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From: fred@inuxc.UUCP (Fred Mendenhall)
Newsgroups: net.space,net.columbia
Subject: Sixty Cents a Pound?
Message-ID: <1062@inuxc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Nov-84 08:30:54 EST
Article-I.D.: inuxc.1062
Posted: Thu Nov  8 08:30:54 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 9-Nov-84 08:34:56 EST
Organization: AT&T Consumer Products Div., Indianapolis
Lines: 20


	I heard the end of a segment on NPR this morning where 
someone was making the following claim:

	It costs about  $1000.00 to accelerate a pound of material
	to escape velocity today. However if we were to switch to
	electromagnetic launchers (mass drivers?) the cost of 
	electricity required to accelerate a pound of material to
	escape velocity would be $0.65.
	
	I have no idea who was talking, but the economics, if they are
even close to being right , are interesting. Do these numbers sound
reasonable to the space wizards on the net or are they science fiction.
What are the problems with electromagnet launches, i.e. payloads must
be designed to withstand 3000000G and must be launched in a restricted
direction, etc.etc.?

					
					Fred Mendenhall