[kinoxi]

A scaled up version of what is already in use. The maglev. What are you referring to?

[Erasmus]

OK. I just wanted to make sure we were talking about a catapult: That is, a payload that doesn't have propulsion of its own (other than maneuvering rockets); it gets all of its kinetic energy from the catapult.

Now, to put something in orbit you have to get it going at around 17,000 MPH, and it has to have that speed at an altitude of at least 100 miles.

This means that you have to get something going way over 17 KMPH by the the end of your catapult.

But the top end of your catapult is still deep within our atmosphere. Even if it's at the top of Mt. Everest, it's still deep within our atmosphere.

Nobody knows how to get anything up to 20+ KMPH deep within our atmosphere and have it survive. It's going to be a meteorite in reverse.

And of course, you'll have to give it accelerations of hundreds of G's, which means it will have to be mighty damn structurally sturdy, and of course living cargos are right out.

If, instead of a catapult, you're talking about any kind of non-chemical-rocket propulsion that can lift tons or more within the atmosphere, then you're still, unfortunately, talking science fiction.