From: rstokes1@san.rr.com   
      
   I still like the idea of a huge gun to launch cargo - at 1000g the gun would   
   be only 2 miles long. And as has been pointed out in this newsgroup before,   
   well-designed and properly packed cargo can withstand hundreds or thousands   
   of g. Let only the astronauts make orbit in rockets - people are only about   
   1% of the total mass of a manned long distance or long duration space   
   mission.   
      
   "Henry Spencer"  wrote in message   
   news:I8op9y.Jwr@spsystems.net...   
   > In article ,   
   > Dr John Stockton   wrote:   
   >>From any spherical body, to attain orbital velocity requires an   
   >>acceleration-distance product of one local gravity times one radius   
   >>distance along the surface.  That's a lot.   
   >   
   > Half a radius distance, actually.  But it's still a lot. :-)   
   > --   
   > "Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend."    |   Henry Spencer   
   >                                -- George Herbert       |   
   > henry@spsystems.net   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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