wraggster
January 3rd, 2007, 19:46
http://www.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/01/launchpoint_ring.jpg
via gizmodo (http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/us-military-developing-gigantic-magnetic-21600mph-slingshot-225717.php)
Since the US military sucks up nearly a trillion dollars of our income taxes every year, they have plenty of money to blow, and here's one of the cool toys such prodigious amounts of cash will buy: it's a giant magnetic slingshot. But the spending has hardly even started on this one yet—the Air Force so far has contributed a paltry half million dollars to LaunchPoint Technologies to develop its idea of a satellite launch system that accelerates its payload around a giant ring using magnetic levitation (MagLev) technology.
via gizmodo (http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/us-military-developing-gigantic-magnetic-21600mph-slingshot-225717.php)
Since the US military sucks up nearly a trillion dollars of our income taxes every year, they have plenty of money to blow, and here's one of the cool toys such prodigious amounts of cash will buy: it's a giant magnetic slingshot. But the spending has hardly even started on this one yet—the Air Force so far has contributed a paltry half million dollars to LaunchPoint Technologies to develop its idea of a satellite launch system that accelerates its payload around a giant ring using magnetic levitation (MagLev) technology.