>>1097981>So, you want to build a ramp which is at least 400 miles highI don't. A space ramp is basically a bridge that either starts on a mountain, uses a coil loop, or a straight stretch of land, and ends in a ramp.
It only needs to support a couple hundred tons of force instead of a couple hundred thousand.
Going mach 10-20 with a rocket sled is much easier than building a space elevator. Not to mention that non-retarded (read: sensible and efficient) construction of a space elevator would require access to space to finish construction. So a space elevator require massive amounts of resources for the sake of a mild improvement.
Theoretically reasonably viable on a newly colonized planet, not so for earth.
>Also, "reduce mass of payload".... you must mean "reduce mass of fuel and vehicle necessary to lift payload"? Yes.
>Sure, a HARP gun does reduce the mass total that needs to be lifted into orbit by cutting out propulsion system and fuel and most of the vehicle, but it also accelerates things at a rate which rules out many payload types. Yes.
>The HARP program was abandoned for good reason...Yes, but space howitzer...
