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Space Launch System

For years, NASA has been researching the possibility of using the high speeds of maglev transportation to fling spacecraft into low Earth orbit. "It would really open up space to human exploration and commercialization," Powell says. "It's something we can't do now because it's too expensive."



Powell and his colleagues have proposed two generations of space launching technology. The first is a cargo-only launch track that could be built into a mountainside to reach a height of 20,000 feet. Magnets could allow a spacecraft traveling along the track to reach speeds around 18,000 miles per hour—enough to fly into space. Of course, such a track would cost an astronomical $20 billion to build. That's quite an up-front cost, but some, like Powell, argue that it could actually save money in the long run. It currently costs $10,000 to launch every kilogram of payload into low Earth orbit. StarTram could do the same for less than $50 per kilogram, he says.



And that's just the first generation. A similar launch track for passengers might cost $60 billion and would need to be 1000 miles long, 12 miles high, and use magnetic levitation both to support the track and propel the train forward at speeds of 5.6 miles per second. Where companies like Virgin Galactic promise to take passengers into space for $200,000 per person, StarTram may charge as little as $50,000 per person.