The Next Best Thing to a Space Elevator

On Dec 17, 10:57*am, Robert Clark wrote:
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Some more info in these articles:

Video: Navy’s Mach 8 Railgun Obliterates Record.
By Spencer Ackerman December 10, 2010 | 6:45 pm | Categories: Navyhttp://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/video-navys-mach-8-railgun-ob...

US Navy achieves '100 mile' hypersonic railgun test shot
Electro-hypercannon could bring back the dreadnought era
By Lewis Page
Posted in Science, 13th December 2010 12:53 GMThttp://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/13/32mj_railgun_test_onr/

The weight of the projectile was 10 kg. The second article gives the
speed more accurately as Mach 7.5. Interestingly this second article
says this test had 3.3 times the energy of the 2008 test, but the
extra energy went to accelerating a heavier projectile, not to
increasing the speed.


Forgot to give the link to the 2008 test:

NAVY TESTS HIGH-POWERED ELECTROMAGNETIC RAILGUN
Friday, February 01, 2008
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,327205,00.html


Bob Clark