IT IS more familiar as the weapon of choice for naughty schoolboys, but Scottish scientists have used the humble catapult to inspire a new branch of research that could revolutionise space travel, writes Marc Horne.

Researchers at Glasgow University are working on the production of a giant stellar “slingshot” that they believe can be used to propel spacecraft to the moon.

Their research has caught the eye of experts at Nasa, who claim the technology could cut the cost of space travel dramatically and lead to the establishment of lunar bases within 20 years. They also believe the technology could be used for manned space missions.

Dr Gianmarco Radice and Professor Matthew Cartmell, of the university’s department of aerospace and mechanical engineering, have been awarded funding from the European Space Agency to carry out further work on their “tether” system in the hope that it can be taken out of the laboratory and put to use.

The technology would involve launching giant rotating wires, up to 62 miles long and made of a high-strength polyethylene fibre, into orbit.

Spacecraft would launch as normal from earth, but with a substantially reduced payload of fuel. They would be fitted with a catch mechanism that would attach to the tether, which would then catapult the craft deeper into space at twice the force of gravity, minus the nose cone, which would drop back to Earth.

The tether would use solar cells to produce an electric current, which would push against the earth’s magnetic field to create the huge force required to fling the craft into space.

Once hurled away from the tether, it is estimated a spacecraft could reach the moon’s atmosphere within four days, where it would be caught by another tether in low orbit, which would deposit it safely on the lunar surface.

Because there is no atmosphere on the moon, the tether would be able to touch the moon surface, allowing it to pick up objects and fling them back into space for the return journey. If the lunar tether collects a payload as it deposits another of equal mass, this would conserve the orbital energy and momentum of the system, eliminating the need for propellant.

“Tether systems are an extremely attractive possibility for space transportation because they do not require any fuel,” said Radice.

Nasa has been examining similar techniques for several years, but Les Johnson, the organisation’s space science manager, believes the Scots scientists are leading the field.

“If this tether technology is successful, it would revolutionise space travel,” he said. “It would be the railroad of space and would be ideally suited for repeated use.”

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