How big a trebuchet would be needed to chuck a cubesat directly into LEO?
Lookup SpinLaunch.
cubesat + small rocket. Orbital mechanics require a burn at a later time in the orbit, to avoid coming back to say hello again to Mr. Trebuchet (Ignoring Earth's rotation)
100 or 200 km tall at point of release ought to do it.
The tip would still have to be doing 7 km/s.
Lookup SpinLaunch.
cubesat + small rocket. Orbital mechanics require a burn at a later time in the orbit, to avoid coming back to say hello again to Mr. Trebuchet (Ignoring Earth's rotation)
100 or 200 km tall at point of release ought to do it.
The tip would still have to be doing 7 km/s.