this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2025
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[–] someone@hexbear.net 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

It's an interesting idea on worlds with lower gravity and little-to-no atmosphere, like Mars or the Moon. But frankly the fuel needed to get to Mach 1 on Earth is a pretty small fraction of the fuel needed to get to orbit. Orbital rockets get to mach 1 really early in flight. Maglev-assisted launch has never really been seriously developed because it's simpler to just design a rocket to carry a little more fuel.

Also, a lot of rockets aren't designed to handle horizontal loads. Neither are a lot of satellites with big mirror segments, like spy satellites or space telescopes. They live their lives either vertical on Earth, effectively-vertical while in flight due to acceleration, or in microgravity on deployment into orbit.

There's also the issue of being able to reach multiple orbital inclinations for different purposes. The fuel needed for dogleg maneuovers after launching from a maglev track could be more than needed to simply launch vertical from a conventional pad, and is way cheaper than building launch tracks for all the common inclinations.

Maglev-assisted launch also has the issue of engine start-up failures leading to disaster. A conventional liquid-fueled rocket will usually run for a few seconds while still clamped to the launch stand while the flight computers do automatic diagnostics. Issues on start-up mean an automatic safe shutdown is possible prior to releasing the launch clamps. If there's an engine start-up issue with a rocket late into its maglev launch, failure changes from "unload the propellants and try again tomorrow" with a vertical rocket on a pad to "yeeting an out of control rocket and its valuable payload into whatever is downrange".

[–] miz@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

the fuel needed to get to Mach 1 on Earth is a pretty small fraction of the fuel needed to get to orbit.

how does that square with

The platform would accelerate rockets to speeds above Mach 1 as rockets burn most fuel at the beginning of a flight,

[–] someone@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's absolutely true that most rockets' fuel is burned early. But it all comes back to cost and design simplicity. Stretching fuel tanks in a rocket design upgrade is comparatively simple, compared to the eye-watering cost of building a maglev track that can handle a heavy-lift rocket and the nuclear reactors that would be needed to power it.

Also, mach 1 is pretty slow for a rocket. Most rockets reach that in about a minute after launch. Objects in low earth orbit (like the ISS) are travelling at the equivalent of sea-level mach 28.

[–] TheFinalCapitalist@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago

take your sciency knowhow and shove it, i want the giant railgun space cargo launcher strictly because its fuckin cool and i support cool shit bein done

[–] yogthos@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago

I also expect that a moon launcher would probably be the most practical. There's no atmosphere to worry about, and very low gravity. Earth based launches like this do face a lot of challenges, but I guess we'll see if they manage to produce anything interesting. Even if they can't make it practical for use here, the research and development that will go into it will be useful for building this on the moon later.

[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

If there's an engine start-up issue with a rocket late into its maglev launch, failure changes from "unload the propellants and try again tomorrow" with a vertical rocket on a pad to "yeeting an out of control rocket and its valuable payload into whatever is downrange".

Couldn't you have two tracks? One track for cancelling late and one for yeeting? If the mission gets cancelled then it goes into a slowdown track loop, if the mission does not then it gets yeeted.

[–] someone@hexbear.net 2 points 1 month ago

Probably, but that just adds even more to the cost, construction time, and land area needed for each launcher complex.

All said, maglev launchers on Earth are just an impractical solution that don't really solve any of the real problems with chemical rockets. Basically every problem with chemical rockets launching from Earth that is solved with a maglev launcher can be solved way cheaper and way faster by just designing rockets to carry a little more fuel.

[–] AernaLingus@hexbear.net 9 points 1 month ago

Full textIn a bid to disrupt the United States’ long-held dominance in space exploration, China is quietly advancing a radical new rocket launch system – powered not by roaring engines but by electromagnetic force – that could propel satellites into orbit with unprecedented speed and efficiency.

At the heart of the ambitious project is Galactic Energy, a private aerospace company that plans to debut the world’s first electromagnetic rocket launch pad by 2028, a project that could redraw the competitive lines of the global space industry.

Developed in partnership with state-backed research institutes in Sichuan province in southwestern China, the system uses superconducting magnets to silently accelerate rockets to supersonic speeds before ignition, a process often compared to launching a maglev train vertically.

The Ziyang government in Sichuan and the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) are testing China’s first electromagnetic launch verification platform with the ambitious goal of launching in three years, according to a report by Sichuan Radio and Television last week.

The platform would accelerate rockets to speeds above Mach 1 as rockets burn most fuel at the beginning of a flight, and offers a future in which launches could become as routine as high-speed train departures.

The technology could double payload capacity and lower the launch cost, said Li Ping, president of the Ziyang Commercial Space Launch Technology Research Institute. Li said the launch track would not require the maintenance needed for traditional launch pads, enabling more frequent launches.

If successful, it could offer China the critical edge it seeks to challenge American giants such as SpaceX.

Founded in 2018, Galactic Energy has conducted 18 successful launches, deploying a total of 77 satellites – more than any other private space company in China. On March 21, it launched six weather satellites into sun-synchronous orbit with its Ceres-1 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre.

A company spokesperson declined to provide further details on its Ceres-2 project.

According to the Sichuan television report, Ceres-2 will feature a major performance upgrade, with a planned payload capacity of 3.5 tonnes to low-Earth orbit compared to Ceres-1’s current capacity of 400kg (880 pounds).

Galactic Energy’s second factory – the construction of which is expected to start later this year – is expected to produce 24 Ceres-2 rockets a year.

Local government documents, including a three-year implementation plan for Ziyang’s commercial space industry, highlight the strategic importance of the development.

The plan calls for accelerating key projects, such as the Galactic Energy expansion and the electromagnetic propulsion testing system, while also encouraging collaboration across upstream and downstream segments of the aerospace supply chain.

By 2027, Ziyang aims to become a nationally recognised hub for commercial rocket production and a leader in reusable electromagnetic launch platforms.

In a September 2023 milestone, CASIC completed a high-temperature superconducting maglev test for electromagnetic space launch. It reached 234km/h over a 380-metre track, marking another step towards operational viability.

[–] 4am@lemm.ee 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Didn’t know we could do a railgun that big. Fucking sick if true. Chinese century inbound

[–] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The most difficult part of a railgun is the pesky Third Law, as most railguns will destroy parts of themselves through firing (which is why they are not used for combat). If they have found a way to make it cheaper to replace those parts than make solid fuel boosters, then it is absolutely possible.

[–] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] Carl@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

lmao I forgot that the missile silo uses a giant revolver

what did they build that thing for? fending off alien invaders?

[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 1 points 1 month ago

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[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 1 points 1 month ago

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[–] MidnightPocket@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago

I am so ready for space race 2.0

No way China loses to fucking Musk-Hindenburgs

[–] Hestia@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago

By 2028? So it'll be up and running by next year.