China envisions electromagnetic gun to send large planes into space at low cost

What if rocket launch pads give way to larger runways? Chinese researchers are conducting tests to revolutionize the way shuttles are sent into space. Instead of the classic vertical standing start, the idea would be to propel the projectiles into the air. For this, engineers at the Chinese Society of Aerospace Science and Industry (Casic) rely on an electromagnetic launch pad.

Several kilometers of “cannon” for 50-ton machines.

The idea would be to place machines weighing 50 tons and longer than a Boeing 747 (about 75 meters) on runways of several kilometers. The vehicles will then reach supersonic speeds of Mach 1.6 (i.e. 1.6 times faster than the speed of sound, about 2,000 km/h). All engines shut down. The South China Morning Post, giving details, said that the reactors will be taken over only after the rocket has separated from the track.

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Electromagnetic rails are already used in the railway sector. It is thanks in large part to their almost non-existent friction that a train speed record of 623 km/h has been set, as France Info reported in early February. In theory, magnetic forces would make it possible to reach speeds in excess of 2,900 km/h.

While this option was long considered by space industry players like NASA, everyone quickly abandoned it. Except that Cacique believes in it. Li Shaowei, head of the company’s electromagnetic department, believes that this solution “has established itself as a strategic avant-garde technology”From the academic journal Acta Aeronautica.

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Drastic reduction in space launch costs

So much so that a two-kilometer track – presented as an electromagnetic cannon – was built in Datong, west of Beijing in Shaanxi province. The track already makes it possible to reach speeds of around 1,000 km per hour. But the goal is to push things past 5,000 km/h, extending that over the coming years.

Ongoing tests could shake up the industry. Especially by drastically reducing the cost of accessing space. Due to the electromagnetic force, the increase in starting speed greatly reduces the fuel requirement.

Scientists have estimated the cost of launching using this technique to be $60 per kilogram. Or 50 times cheaper than a shipment by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, which has cut bills significantly in recent years.