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{{short description|Method of launching an object into outer space via a large gun or cannon}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with [[
[[File:Quicklauncher.jpg|thumb|The [[Quicklaunch]]er spacegun]]
A '''space gun''', sometimes called a '''Verne gun''' because of its appearance in ''[[From the Earth to the Moon]]'' by [[Jules Verne]], is a method of launching an object into [[outer space|space]] using a large [[gun]]- or [[cannon]]like structure. Space guns could thus potentially provide a method of [[non-rocket spacelaunch]]. It has been conjectured that space guns could place satellites into Earth's orbit (although after-launch propulsion of the satellite would be necessary to achieve a stable orbit), and could also launch spacecraft beyond Earth's gravitational pull and into other parts of the [[Solar System]] by exceeding [[Escape velocity#List of escape velocities|Earth's escape velocity]] of about {{convert|40320|kph|km/s km/h mph|abbr=on|order=out}}. However, these speeds are too far into the [[Hypersonic speed|hypersonic]] range for most practical propulsion systems and also would cause most objects to burn up due to [[aerodynamic heating]] or be torn apart by [[aerodynamic drag]]. ▼
Therefore, a more likely future use of space guns would be to launch objects into near Earth orbit, from where attached rockets could be fired or the objects could be "collected" by maneuverable orbiting satellites.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}▼
▲A '''space gun''', sometimes called a '''Verne gun''' because of its appearance in ''[[From the Earth to the Moon]]'' by [[Jules Verne]], is a method of launching an object into [[outer space|space]] using a large [[gun]]- or [[cannon]]-like structure. Space guns could thus potentially provide a method of [[non-rocket spacelaunch]]. It has been conjectured that space guns could place [[satellites]] into Earth's orbit (although after-launch propulsion of the satellite would be necessary to achieve a stable orbit), and could also launch spacecraft beyond Earth's gravitational pull and into other parts of the [[Solar System]] by exceeding [[Escape velocity#List of escape velocities|Earth's escape velocity]] of about {{convert|40320|kph|km/s km/h mph|abbr=on|order=out}}. However, these speeds are too far into the [[Hypersonic speed|hypersonic]] range for most practical propulsion systems and also would cause most objects to burn up due to [[aerodynamic heating]] or be torn apart by [[aerodynamic drag]].
In [[Project HARP]], a 1960s joint United States and Canada defence project, a [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] {{convert|16|in|mm|abbr=on|order=flip}} 100 [[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|caliber]] gun was used to fire a {{convert|180|kg|lb|abbr=on}} projectile at {{convert|12960|kph|m/s km/h mph|abbr=on|order=out}}, reaching an apogee of {{convert|180|km|mi|abbr=on}}, hence performing a [[suborbital spaceflight]]. However, a space gun has never been successfully used to launch an object into orbit or out of Earth's gravitational pull.▼
▲Therefore, a more likely future use of space guns would be to launch objects into
▲In [[Project HARP]], a 1960s joint United States and Canada defence project, a [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] {{convert|16|in|mm|abbr=on|order=flip}} 100 [[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|caliber]] gun was used to fire a {{convert|180|kg|lb|abbr=on}} projectile at {{convert|12960|kph|m/s km/h mph|abbr=on|order=out}}, reaching an [[apogee]] of {{convert|180|km|mi|abbr=on}}, hence performing a [[suborbital spaceflight]]. However, a space gun has never been successfully used to launch an object into orbit or out of Earth's gravitational pull.
== Technical issues ==
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===Getting to orbit===
A space gun by itself is not capable of placing objects into a stable orbit around the object (planet or otherwise)
A rocket can be used for additional boost, as planned in both [[Project HARP#Martlet projectiles|Project HARP]] and the [[Quicklaunch]] project. The magnitude of such correction may be small; for instance, the [[StarTram|StarTram Generation 1]] reference design involves a total of {{cvt|0.6|km/s|mph}} of rocket burn to raise [[perigee]] well above the atmosphere when entering an {{cvt|8|km/s|mph}} [[low Earth orbit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startram.com/resources|title=StarTram2010: Maglev Launch: Ultra Low Cost Ultra High Volume Access to Space for Cargo and Humans|publisher=startram.com|
In a [[Three-body problem#Gravitational systems|three-body]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-06-15|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Three-body problem#Gravitational systems|reason= The anchor (Gravitational systems) [[Special:Diff/881619468|has been deleted]].}} or larger system, a [[gravity assist]] trajectory might be available such that a carefully aimed [[escape velocity]] projectile would have its trajectory modified by the gravitational fields of other bodies in the system such that the projectile would eventually return to orbit the initial planet using only the launch [[delta-v]].<ref>{{
[[Isaac Newton]] avoided this objection in his thought experiment by
=== Acceleration ===
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:<math> a = \frac{v_e^2}{2l} </math>
For instance, with a space gun with a vertical "gun barrel" through both the [[Earth's crust]] and the [[troposphere]], totalling ~{{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=in}} of length (<math>l</math>), and a velocity (<math>v_e</math>) enough to escape the Earth's gravity ([[escape velocity]], which is {{cvt|11.2|km/s|mph|disp=or}} on Earth), the acceleration (<math>a</math>) would theoretically be more than {{cvt|1000|m/s2}}, which is more than 100 [[g-force]]s, which is about 3 times the [[G-force#Human tolerance of g-force|human tolerance to g-force]]s of maximum 20 to 35 ''g''<ref name="Purley">{{cite web
==Practical attempts==
[[File:Big Babylon sections at Fort Nelson.JPG|300px|thumb|Two sections of the [[Project Babylon]] gun]]
[[File:Project Harp.jpg|left|thumb|140px|[[Project HARP]], a prototype of a space gun.]]
===V3 Cannon (1944-45)===
The German [[V-3 cannon]] program
=== Super High Altitude Research Project (1985-95)===▼
▲The German [[V-3 cannon]] program (less well known than the [[V-2 rocket]] or [[V-1 flying bomb]]), during the Second World War was an attempt to build something approaching a space gun. Based in the [[Pas-de-Calais]] area of [[France]] it was planned to be more devastating than the other [[Nazi]] '[[V-weapons|Vengeance weapons]]'. The cannon was capable of launching {{cvt|140|kg|lb}}, {{cvt|15|cm|in}} diameter shells over a distance of {{cvt|88|km|mi}}. It was destroyed by [[RAF]] bombing using [[Tallboy (bomb)|Tallboy]] [[blockbuster bomb]]s in July 1944.<ref>{{cite web|author=RAF staff |date=6 April 2005 |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/diary.html |work=Bomber Command: Campaign Diary |title=RAF History - Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |publisher=RAF |archiveurl=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jul44.html |archivedate=6 July 2007|accessdate=23 October 2013}}</ref> The V-3 cannon used staged propulsion, which gave it a far greater range.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3330715/Building-Hitler-s-SUPERGUN-Researcher-reveals-megaweapon-carved-French-hillside-worked.html|title=Researcher reveals how Hitler's SUPERGUN worked|website=Dailymail.co.uk|accessdate=20 August 2017}}</ref>
===Project Babylon===▼
The most prominent recent attempt to make a space gun was artillery engineer [[Gerald Bull]]'s [[Project Babylon]], which was also known as the 'Iraqi supergun' by the media. During Project Babylon, Bull used his experience from Project HARP to build a massive cannon for [[Saddam Hussein]], leader of [[Ba'athist Iraq]]. Bull was assassinated before the project was completed.<ref>William Lowther, ''Arms and the Man: Dr. Gerald Bull, Iraq, and the Supergun'' (Presidio, Novato, 1991)</ref>▼
▲===Project Babylon (1988-90)===
▲=== Super High Altitude Research Project ===
▲The most prominent recent attempt to make a space gun was artillery engineer [[Gerald Bull]]'s [[Project Babylon]], which was also known as the 'Iraqi supergun' by the media. During Project Babylon, Bull used his experience from Project HARP to build a massive cannon for [[Saddam Hussein]], leader of [[Ba'athist Iraq]]. Bull was assassinated before the project was completed.<ref>
▲Since Bull's death, few have seriously attempted to build a space gun. Perhaps most promisingly, the US [[Ballistic Missile Defense]] program sponsored the [[Super High Altitude Research Project]] (SHARP) in the 1980s. Developed at [[Lawrence Livermore Laboratory]], it is a [[light-gas gun]] and has been used to test fire objects at [[Mach number|Mach 9]].
=== Quicklaunch (1996-2016)===
After cancellation of SHARP, lead
[[Ram accelerator]]s have also been proposed as an alternative to light-gas guns. Other proposals use electromagnetic techniques for accelerating the payload, such as [[coilgun]]s and [[railgun]]s.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}
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==In fiction==
[[File:FETMlaunch.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The firing of a space gun in Jules Verne's ''From the Earth to the Moon'']]
The first publication of the concept may be [[Newton's cannonball]] in
Perhaps the most famous
In the 1991 video game ''[[Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams]]'', [[Percival Lowell]] builds a space gun to send a spacecraft to [[Mars]].
The 1992 video game ''[[Steel Empire]]'', a [[shoot 'em up]] with [[steampunk]] aesthetics, features a space gun in its seventh level that is used by the main villain General Styron to launch himself to the Moon.
In [[Hannu Rajaniemi]]'s 2012 novel ''[[The Fractal Prince]]'', a space gun at the "Jannah-of-the-cannon", powered by a 150-kiloton [[nuclear bomb]], is used to launch a spaceship from Earth.
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[[Gerald Bull]]'s assassination and the [[Project Babylon]] gun were also the starting point for [[Frederick Forsyth]]'s 1994 novel ''[[The Fist of God]]''. In [[Larry Bond]]'s 2001 novella and 2015 novel ''Lash-Up'', China uses a space gun to destroy American [[GPS]] satellites.
In the 2004 role-playing game ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'', a village of Bob-ombs operates a space gun to send Paper Mario and company to the X-Naut's base on the
==See also==
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* [[Geostationary orbit]]: circular orbit {{convert|35786|km|mi|abbr=in}} above the Earth used by communications satellites
* [[Newton's cannonball]]
* ''[[The Fist of God]]''
* [[Super High Altitude Research Project|SHARP]]
* [[Quicklaunch]]
* [[SpinLaunch]]
* [[StarTram]]
* [[Mass driver]]
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[[Category:Megastructures]]
[[Category:Spacecraft propulsion]]
[[Category:Spaceflight
[[Category:Vertical transport devices]]
[[Category:Space access]]
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