Sling Me to the Moon

By | April 4, 2006

This is intriguing:

Scientists at Glasgow University have won funding from the European Space Agency to examine the feasibility of building a slingshot that could fire supplies direct to the moon and retrieve cargo coming down the other way.

A rotating network of cables would be set up in low earth orbit into which material would be fired via conventional rocket launches.

These cables, powered by electrical panels and the earth’s spin, would provide the extra impetus required to send the packages to the moon, where they would be collected by another slingshot and sent down to the surface.

The article would benefit tremendously from a diagram. I’m having a little diffculty picturing exactly how this would work.

I note that there is no mention of passengers. This is apparently a means of getting only cargo to the moon. Probably too many G’s in that slinging action. But it’s hard to say without more details.

  • http://www.liftport.com bdunbar

    The more big-ass things we have slinging stuff around the better. Even that the ideas are getting funding is cheery news.

  • http://www.tethers.com/OrbitToOrbit.html AndrewS

    A local (to me) company has been working on the same idea plus a lot of other applications. Their web site (linked above) has some diagrams.

  • Christopher Luebcke

    A mechanism whose primary propulsive force is delivered through a massive amount of inertia (e.g. the end of such a ‘scoop’) doesn’t aim well. You lose some of the economic benefit if the vehicles actually being shot between the Earth and moon have to be able to adjust their own course, but if you don’t equip them so… well, sucks if you miss.