The kinetic energy of 1 kg moving at orbital velocity is about 31 megajoules. The potential energy of the same kilogram suspended 100km overhead is less than a megajoule.
Most of the difficulty to orbit isn't distance, it's the amount of energy it takes to get something moving that fast.
Actually it's much, much worse than that, because it's actually the change in momentum involved.
Most of the difficulty to orbit isn't distance, it's the amount of energy it takes to get something moving that fast.
Actually it's much, much worse than that, because it's actually the change in momentum involved.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation