From: Doug Jones (random@qnet.com)
Date: Thu Jul 22 1999 - 16:20:05 MDT
Eugene Leitl wrote:
>
> The very best fuel on the Moon is obviously a linear motor/mass
> driver. One needs to make a ramp (using the best angle, which?)
Best angle = 0, whether launching to escape or to low lunar orbit
(LLO allows much looser trajectory control due to shorter time of
flight).
> Another nice point about a linear mass driver is that in the simplest
> implementation it is just a linear array of identical modules:
The trouble is, they *cannot* be identical; to get even low
efficiency the inductance, capacitance, and initial voltage on the
caps must vary along the length. Also, the switching speeds are the
most critical design driver- solid state relays of the speed and
power needed aren't cheap. I can dig up detail information if
anyone is really truly interested.
-- Doug Jones, Freelance Rocket Plumber
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