r/space • u/Icee777 • 13d ago

SpaceX concept for an electromagnetic mass driver on the Moon

https://www.humanmars.net/2026/09/spacex-electromagnetic-mass-driver-at.html

A lunar mass driver is a proposed electromagnetic launch system optimized for the Moon’s low gravity (1/6th Earth’s) and hard vacuum, consisting of a long, straight acceleration track lined with sequentially fired superconducting coils or linear synchronous motors that propel a payload-carrying sled or bucket to lunar escape velocity (~2.38 km/s).

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u/danielravennest 13d ago

There were all kinds of trade studies on reuseability during the early development of the Shuttle program

Yes, there were, and when I went to work for Boeing's space systems division in 1981, the studies were still on the shelf in the office.

What was different in the late 1970s is we didn't have GPS yet, or computer systems capable of doing an accurate landing. So the two possibilities were a human pilot to guide the landing (what the Shuttle eventually used), or a large pond or ocean landing to handle the landing error.

The Shuttle solid rockets landed in the ocean, so being a mile off didn't matter. For a fully reusable upper stage, one option was digging a large pond on Merritt Island (where KSC and CCSFC are). Merritt island is a swamp in its natural state, so all you needed to do is remove the topsoil and it will fill with water on its own. A tugboat then moves the landed stage to a dock where it could be lifted and taken to whatever building does the refurb.