Analysis of Levitational Systems for a Superconducting Launch Ring

The launch ring consists of a maglev system in which a levitated vehicle is accelerated in an evacuated circular tunnel until it reaches a desired velocity and then releases a projectile into a path leading to the atmosphere. This paper analyses several levitational concepts for a system that employs superconductors in the stator and on the vehicle. Both an attractive and a shear-force configuration are shown to offer complete static stability over the complete velocity range from 0 to 10 km/s.