Well, not quite, this is a video of a concept that might be useful in get materials up there. This is only a concept, do not be alarmed!
Basically, it is intended to connect with a pod that has some payload and some thrust capability of its own, and it spins until it reaches enough speed to get high enough to kick in the pod’s thrust and get it to space.
And of course when you do this, the whole thing shatters because it is imbalanced and the sonic boom destroys the neighborhood.
Since escape velocity is about 17,600 miles per hour, some have noted that atmospheric friction would cause the rocket to burn up very quickly, same as happens to a meteor (or tries to happen to the space shuttle) when it enters the atmosphere at high speeds.
But conceivably it could replace the first stage of a rocket, and according to the guy on the video, reduce the fuel required to reach orbit.
But you don’t want to ride on this one. The centrifugal force would crush a human like the proverbial bug.
Now here is some of my own fancy engineering talent. If you want to send a human, and keep the forces down to 5g (for healthy humans), Then spin it up to 5 gravities and then send it to a long tube with its snout a couple of miles high. to get to the second stage launch you would need about 10 miles of tube (depending on how fast you started from the catapult…).
It could be done… Someday I’ll do the math for you.
https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1080857135807993
