From: cdorrough@nortonconsultants.com   
      
   "Andrew Nowicki"  wrote in message   
   news:40BCDEC4.D68C1A8E@nospam.com...   
   >   
   > {general discussion snipped}   
   > ________________________________________________   
   >   
   >                  MY CONCLUSION   
   >   
   > Space tethers and guns... {snip}   
   >   
   > When the rocket reaches 6 km/s, it deposits its   
   > cargo at the end of orbital sling (Robert Forward   
   > called it bolo.)...  {snip}   
   >   
   > The sling has a built-in aluminum wire which   
   > is used as an electrodynamic tether... {snip}   
   >   
   > The system of Earth-to-orbit transportation   
   > I have just described is not made of unobtanium.   
   > All its technologies have been tested; they are   
   > cheap and reliable...   
      
   Tested?  Cheap??  Reliable?!?   
      
   Andrew, maybe I've missed something, but has *any* this actually been tested   
   on orbit?  If so, would you mind identifying even _one_ Space Tether/Orbital   
   Sling in operation today?  I thought this was all just drawing-board stuff..   
      
   Cameron:-)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)