P3_8 Elastic Launch

Abstract

This is a brief investigation into the energetics of using a stretched elastic based slingshot to launch objects into space. The energy required to reach escape velocity is used to calculate some parameters of a theoretical elastic material that would be used to store the energy. It is found that for an acceleration distance of 828 m a spring constant of 4.01x10⁶ Nm^-1 would be needed to provide the 15385g acceleration.