re: Would this change the equation?
"Why is NASA building a maglauncher if no one will survive being launched by it?"
"Within five years, you'll see aircraft being launched magnetically. Most of the technical challenges have been overcome. We are now in the scaling areas to match the aerodynamics of the launch with the spacecraft and the launcher," said George Scelzo of Chicago-based PRT Advanced Maglev Systems.
But to propel their research onto the next stage, NASA and its partners will need to land millions more in money."
Sounds like a good idea to me.