@S1-A.ARPA,@MIT-MC.ARPA:DIETZ@RUTGERS.ARPA (07/08/85)
From: DIETZ@RUTGERS.ARPA Someone suggested sending the material to Earth orbit, then down to the moon. the problem with this idea is that you have to stop the payloads in oribt somehow: either by impact with a very heavy/thick backstop, or by active techniques (retrorockets?) that make the projectiles expensive. Hitting the moon seems much simpler. A point I should also have made clear: the launcher will have to swivel, since the moon is not geostationary. One might expect to launch perhaps 30% of the time. Any orbital mechanicians want to comment? -------