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Comment by nohat | Hacker News Reader

Put this on the moon and we are talking. I'm not sure I see this being too useful otherwise, considering how much extra fairing mass those gforces are going to require

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Yes, SpinLaunch on Moon launching ore concentrates. No housing needed, g-forces irrelevant; gravity well is smaller.

Obligatory link, "Moon is a Harsh Mistress", by Heinlein: https://archive.org/details/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress_201701

I came here to say exactly the same thing. Perfect for my favorite project to save the Earth - launching refined moon dust at Lagrange points.

I swear I either read a book or watched a movie in which they did exactly this.

I loved Heinlein as a kid...

I wonder how many geeks today realize he's the origin of the term 'grok' ?

A lot? It's not that big a secret, if the question ever occurs to you. I've known for a while and haven't even read the book.

I don't think its a secret, but I do think it was before a lot geeks time...hell, it was actually published almost a decade before my time :-P

P.S. It also appears 'grok' has fallen out of favor over the years. It's too bad, I always liked how subtle it was - the distinction between knowing WHAT something does and WHY it does it(eg fully understanding it)

A smooth bore gun (like the one in tanks) with a very long barrel will work for moon projectiles as well.

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