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Spike Jones wrote:
>
> Mike Lorrey wrote:
>
> > Spike Jones wrote:
> > >
> > > Did they work out a way to carry some delta v capability in a
> > > package that experienced about 1400 Gs?
> >
> > BTW: the big Babylon gun design did not use a single charge, it had
> > staggered charges along its length that would go off as the projectile
> > passed, thus reducing peak G forces.
>
> I assumed that. In order to accelerate to a minimal orbit velocity
> in 300 meters, one needs a constant 1400 G for the length. Evening
> out the acceleration over the length is not that hard to do, however.
>
> Another challenge is the sudden deceleration from air friction at the
> end of the barrel.
Well, the projectile is a sabot design that Bull designed in his work in
Canada, and he also developed mechanisms to inject gasses into the wake
of the projectile to reduce decelleration (as well as full rocket
systems). Bull's entire life focus was on developing a gun to put things
in orbit, and he didn't care who funded him. He did not figure on
Hussein using his gun to deliver bio or nuke weapons, or perhaps he was
hoping that someone in the west would outbid Hussein in keeping him
funded.
1400 G's is not extremely difficult to harden the projectile for, but I
suspect Bull had hoped that it would be beyond Hussein's ability to
produce mechanisms for bio/nuke attack that could do it.
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