In the 1960s, a young inventor named James Powell had an idea. He imagined using the opposing forces of powerful magnets to lift and move passenger cars. His idea became the basis for magnetic levitation. “Maglev” is used today to operate high-speed trains. Some of them achieve speeds of 375 miles per hour.
Today, at 84 years old, Powell is reaching for the stars with his idea. With aerospace engineer George Maise, Powell proposes using maglev technology to develop an electromagnetic catapult. The system would launch a cargo vessel into space without the use of rocket fuel.
The proposed launch system is called StarTram. The two developers envision variations on the system: one for launching payload-only (cargo) carriers, and the other for carrying passengers to space.
Generation 1 is the payload-only system. It could be built using the side of a mountain for support and proper launching angle for the maglev tracks. Essentially, electromagnetic forces would hurl the cargo-laden vessel upward, increasing speed, until it left the tracks and entered orbit—or even beyond. This version of StarTram, the men say, could be developed for about $20 billion in the next 10 years.
The passenger-carrying system, Generation 2, would need a more specialized system of enclosed tubes containing 1,000 miles of track. The tubes would form a vacuum tunnel to protect passengers from the sonic shock that occurs when exceeding the speed of sound. This track would rise upward from the Earth to a height of 12 miles before expelling its human cargo at a speed and distance capable of reaching Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Powell and Maise say Generation 2 would cost about $60 billion. It could be completed in as little as 20 years. The technology for both Generations 1 and 2 currently exists and is economically possible, they say.
Once constructed, StarTram could significantly cut the cost of transporting people and goods to space. Today, it costs about $10,000 to launch just 2.2 pounds of cargo into LEO by rocket. Powell and Maise believe StarTram could reduce that cost to just $50! And what about space travelers? An astronaut going to the International Space Station today could say his ticket fare is about $20 million. StarTram predicts bringing that down to the $5,000 range!
Now that kind of savings is out of this world!
