Slashdot links to this story about a scheme to flang space hardware from surface to orbit using a sort of macroscopic-particle cyclotron thingy to accelerate it gently to Mach 23 before releasing it skyward.
(Wouldn't actually put it in any kind of useful orbit, of course; there's still the need for some kind of orbital insertion burn, post-boost. Remember, the orbit always passes through the point where the last force was applied.)
Is it just me, or is this a glorified version of Verne's Moon cannon? And don't I recall seeing at least one detailed analysis of why, exactly, trying to impart such high velocities anywere near sea level is a Bad Idea? Like, air looking very much like a brick wall when you're going that fast?
(Come to think of it, though, that analysis might have been by Arthur C. Clarke, who's been gloriously wrong about other things.)
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