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by credit_guy 19 days ago
That's an interesting idea, but I don't think you can use a mass driver to shoot something from an higher orbit to a lower orbit.
2 comments

True, it would need to accelerate somehow. Maybe there could be some kind of on board propulsion that would be enough once it's in space. Solid rocket motors could be fabricated as part of the process but the timing and control systems would pose a problem. Maybe something clever could be done mechanically that leveraged temperature or pressure changes.
Sure you can — you just fire it went pointing ‘backwards’. But either way, you still need a burn to circularise the orbit when you get there.