this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2024
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Technik
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Thanks for the detail! I thought it should definitely be possible in theory to throw something into orbit. But you're right, I didn't think of the atmosphere and its friction. You would also have to throw at a very flat angle so theres a lot of atmosphere for your projectile to pass through.
Even without air friction, and no matter how flat you throw it, you'd always throw it into an elliptical "orbit". But the lowest point of the ellipse would still be on the surface, no matter how high the upper end is.
So it would always come back down, unless you give it another push at the highest point (in space).
If you just throw it even faster, you'll hit escape velocity and it would leave earth entirely.
Makes sense as well. So the projectiles they throw not only have to be able to withstand the launch and release the payload, but they also have to be functioning rockets to allow for a circulation burn...
Well good luck to them.
Edit: I think I had that animation in mind where the canon shoots a canon-ball into a circular orbit (don't remember where I saw it), but I guess that's impossible, too, then. >.<
Just build a tower taller than the atmosphere, now you don't need rockets because you have a space elevator.