It is commonly said that it's impossible
to launch an object into orbit with a single impulse (like the idea of Superman punching villains into orbit for example) and it's mostly true. To reach orbit, vehicles need to perform a circularisation burn to raise the perigee to orbital altitude.
However, it is possible to launch an object with a single impulse to escape velocity, and if it's done at the right angle and at the right time, you could launch into a resonant solar orbit that intersects with Earth in such a way that results in recapture and a stable (probably retrograde) Earth orbit.
I feel (but don't know) it would be possible to do a similar trick without achieving escape velocity and instead shooting for a lunar gravity assist, but the chances of such an orbit being stable seem slim; the object's final orbit would have to intersect with the moon's and so would be regularly perturbed, probably getting chucked out of the Earth/Moon system if not colliding with the Earth or moon.
The delta-v requirements for either option are huge, and the object you send will need to be protected both from the force of the impulse and from the ablative effects of the atmosphere on a hypersonic object (which will increase the weight of your payload meaning you need a bigger explosion meaning you'll need more protection which will increase the weight of your payload and so on).
tl;dr: I'm not saying he couldn't, just that it's not a trivial thing to try and do.
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brb Monkhouse Stampede, Wed 31 May 2023, 17:44,
Reply)
Pfft. All you need is an atom bomb, a manhole cover and a big hole.
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jonbob loves you, Wed 31 May 2023, 18:11,
Reply)
