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Could a railgun work in space?
According to Space, the electromagnetic railgun peaked at Mach 6, which means six times the speed of sound. If astronauts can station at the moon and mine resources, the said speed is just a fraction “slower” than the escape velocity. Thereafter, the electromagnetic railgun can toss the material into space.
What is a rail gun in space?
The electric rail gun for space propulsion An analytic feasibility investigation of an electric propulsion concept for space application is described. In this concept, quasistatic thrust due to inertial reaction to repetitively accelerated pellets by an electric rail gun is used to propel a spacecraft.
What is the moon’s escape velocity mph?
5,300 mph
The escape velocity at the moon is just a shade faster than that — 5,300 mph (8,530 km/h). Magnetic fields created by high electrical currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor, or armature, between two rails to launch projectiles.
What speed breaks Earth gravity?
about 11.2 km/s
On the surface of the Earth, the escape velocity is about 11.2 km/s, which is approximately 33 times the speed of sound (Mach 33) and several times the muzzle velocity of a rifle bullet (up to 1.7 km/s).
How does a railgun work?
The basic principle behind a railgun is that it uses an electric current to create a magnetic field. This allows the railgun to shoot projectiles made from conductive materials. The more current you can pump through the system, the more powerful the magnetic field and the faster the projectile will go.
Could a railgun be used to launch a vehicle into space?
Railguns can acheive a muzzle velocity of a projectile on the order of 7.5 km/s. The Earth’s escape velocity is 11.2 km/s. It seems to me that a railgun style launch device built into a deep shaft such as an abandoned mine could reasonably launch a vehicle into space.
Can We lob payloads from the Moon using electromagnetic railguns?
In 1974, Princeton professor and space visionary Gerard O’Neill first proposed using an electromagnetic railgun to lob payloads from the moon. “Mass drivers” based on a coilgun design could be adapted to accelerate a nonmagnetic object, O’Neill suggested.
How does an electromagnetic railgun work?
The U.S. Navy’s electromagnetic railgun in action during a recent test. (Image credit: Office of Naval Research) Magnetic fields created by high electrical currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor, or armature, between two rails to launch projectiles. RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU… Created with Sketch. Click here for more Space.com videos…
Could Mach 6 technology be used to launch payloads from the Moon?
(Image credit: Space Studies Institute) The United States Navy fired a projectile at Mach 6 during a recent test with an electromagnetic railgun, suggesting that early ideas about using such tech to launch payloads from the lunar surface might not be so sci-fi after all. Mach 6 (six times the speed of sound) is 4,567 mph (7,350 km/h).