Launch Loop Stats

2017 March 10

5700 km		length of rotor
100 km		launch path altitude
0.472 km/s		Earth rotation speed at altitude
0.9647 km²/s²	0.9647 MJ/kg	Surface to altitude energy difference
14 km/s	rotor speed at altitude, not including rotation
3 kg/m		rotor density at altitude
14.074 km/s		rotor speed at surface

|| 0.00527 || 0.527% || rotor expansion at surface ||

2.985 kg/m		rotor density at surface
17e6 kg		rotor mass
$6/kg		estimated cost of electrical steel
$100M		cost of rotor electrical steel
1.7e15 J	460 GWh	rotor kinetic energy
≈ 5.6 days		energy use in Portland, Oregon
300 MW		"maintenance" power and losses
2600 GWh		annual maintenance energy
98%		incremental launch energy efficiency
1.59 km/s apogee	10.33 km/s perigee	GTO transfer orbit ( GEO at 42164 km )
9.86 km/s		launch velocity to GTO minus rotation v.
50 GJ		launch energy per tonne to GTO
$50/MWHr		WAG estimate, electricity cost
$700/tonne		electricity cost per tonne to GTO
400 tonnes/hr		maximum launch rate
3.5e6 tonnes/year		maximum launch rate
5.9 GW		power needed for maximum launch rate

Saturn V rocket
3e6 kg	launch mass
50 tonnes	est payload to GTO

A launch loop rotor weighing as much as 6 Saturn V rockets can launch as much as those six rockets in 45 minutes. Of course, launch loop stationary mass is much larger, including power plants, floats and anchoring cables, turn around magnets, sheathing, etc., but that in turn is much smaller than the construction and power plant mass of Kennedy Space Center.

Apogee insertion motors and "pad" ops will cost more than the launch energy. Assuming reusable motors, if the fuel is launched