So, I've been thinking about the space elevator, mostly about powering the climbers. Everyone seems to be backing laser power (using ground based lasers to shine on solar panels on the climber).
And, I've been reading Ken Macleod's "Fall Revolution" books, which have "steam launched spaceships". I read them completely out of order, so I never got any details. There is a little in "The Space Fraction".
After looking into it more, I found an excellent source. "Steam" propulsion is somewhat of an exaggeration. The recommended propellants are hydrogen and nitrogen. Water is possible, but not optimal.
But pretty cool, for small scale, high volume launch capacity.
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