in the same direction as they almost always launch East, so as to get the benefit of the velocity of Earth's rotation. They have to go ~ Mach 26 to stay in orbit. Earth's rotation provides Mach 1.25 to start with. To launch west would mean needing to accelerate to Mach 27https://twitter.com/jdflynn/status/1147220882298826752 …
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It's physically unrealistic to stand exactly at the pole. You will have some rotation speed, and it's possible that the tangent would be equal to orbital velocity. Admittedly if the entire thing were spinning at orbital velocity, it's not likely to hold together.
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