Spin Launch Approaching Mach II

I'm wondering how far away the control center is from the spinlaunch. I wouldn't want to be anywhere close, especially in the plane of rotation.

I wonder how far this device could sling a projectile if it was launched at a 45° angle...?

I get a little over 18 miles....a typical tank round is good for about 2 miles...

It's got good range, but the reload time is not so good.

Depends on how many machines they have, they could have 100....or maybe one is enough...

And then there is the problem of aiming it. The enemy will probably not be obliging enough to stay put in one place while you reload and wind it up.

It's just not suitable as a weapon...

An 8" howitzer can shoot 18 miles - even a nuclear weapon.

16,800 meters = 10.44 miles

You seem to be arguing with me. I was in the Army National Guard in the 1960's. Ours would fire 18.6 miles. Check out this Russian one:

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/12/08/russia-longest-range-howitzer/

I believe those would be rocket assisted rounds...

https://www.army.mil/article/158453/army_researchers_add_power_range_to_artillery

It's a hi-tech David vs Goliath sling.

What could possibly go wrong?

<...Mach II...> is nowhere near Earth's escape velocity, of course.

The bad news is that the forces involved are proportional to the square of velocity, F=v²/r. Every time the speed is doubled, the force increases four-fold.

The good news is that it doesn't have to escape earth. It just has to get the projectile above the atmosphere so that the "second stage" rocket can get the payload into orbit.

To lessen the shock after launch,why not have another disc coupled to,the inner launch containing a liquid,so that when the launch occurs,the inner(active) is coupled to an outer container filled with liquid,viscosity to be determined,to soften the shock;essentially a torque converter.It could take as long as necessary to disperse the energy,or why not impart the energy to another disc to accelerate it, similar to a torque converter?Have two discs in parallel,coupled together by a viscous fluid,but coupled only at the instant(milliseconds) immediately after launch?

Why waste all of that energy?

I am sure there will be a "kick" in the opposite direction as the atmosphere enters the launch tube,so the idle disc could be spun up in the opposite rotation.

Basically, a double barrelled launch mechanism.

I am sure they must have thought of this.

Sure. Why waste all that energy? If used to launch artillery shells, much of the energy of the first disk could be captured through regenerative braking and used to assist in bringing the second disk up to speed, and so on...

Exactly.If it takes several days to get up to speed,this could be reduced considerably and be a lot more efficient,even if the energy had to be stored chemically.

Fascinating, and a really cool concept. And, as has happened so many times in the past, science fiction authors have thought of this oh, though nowhere near this developmentally complete several times in the past. And that Moon launch idea has been used in several science fiction books. One, the title I can't remember, use that concept to launch rocks from the moon at the Earth as a form of artillery to protect a moon colony against takeover by forces from Earth during a lunar Revolution. No not the revolution of the Moon around the Earth oh, the other kind of revolution.

I think the book you are referring to is "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress" by R Heinlein 1966.

They used a high speed conveyor to launch the rocks over the gravitational curb of the moon.

Very good book.

AND:(maybe a little OT),Also the title of a good song written by Jimmy Webb,performed by Glen Campbell,among others.

I guess the first spin/launch weapon was David's sling,used to slay the giant.

In fact, I described this launcher to my daughter as a high-tech David's slingshot. Great minds, like tracks.

I made that reference in Post #2. When we were in our early teens we played around with slings. It is entirely believable that David slayed Goliath using one. A properly wielded sling carrying a smooth stone the size of an egg is not a toy, it is a weapon. An indication of the speed and power: A sharp-sided irregular stone when launched from a sling will emit a low drone as it cuts through the air (good for "over the bow" warning shots to teen-aged enemies).

Check out the lady softball pitchers.

They really do a wind up on the pitch.

They have to pitch underhanded:70+MPH!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DCojM7eOcU

It takes a lot of practice to get good with a sling.

Release timing is key to accuracy,in the sub-millisecond range.Amazing that some people can put the projectile exactly where they want it.

Back in my day on the farm,we used rotten tomatoes,no sling,just arms,and the acceleration had to be controlled or you would wind up with a hand full of rotten Ketchup.The acceleration rate depended on how rotten the tomato was.

A soft tomato was more effective,it generated a lot of liquid shrapnel,which could get multiple targets,but he had a chance to duck it,but the hard,fast ones were too quick to avoid.We had our "ammo" sorted and stacked accordingly.

We knew every enemy's reaction time,and used the proper ammo for each.

Ahh! The simple, harmless pleasures of days gone by.

Become one with the projectile....

Er, um, so what happens if it is released a fraction of a second early or late, and disappears off somewhere it isn't intended to go, demolishing a building or three?