Dr. D,
From my position, Longitude 25°13'N Latitude55°17'E at sea level, how much force should I use, in what direction, and when should I launch a 100-pound steel ball in order to be able to put it into orbit around neptune on february 19, 2020?
Thanks!
Of course this also raises other issues too. Apart from 17 (which holds much significance for you today, wait and see), what you are trying to perform is almost impossible.
Launching a single 100 pound steel ball from the planet would require about 180,000 pounds of vertical thrust for 17 minutes, however, in order to get it into orbit around Neptune, thrust alone isn't going to work.
A steel ball has no capabilities on its own to change it's direction, and even relying on the gravitational sling of Neptune, calculating the correct vector to arrive in orbit, slow down and maintain orbit, taking into account also the gravitational vectors of the sun, Jupiter, Saturn and of course something from Uranus, I would say you have far bigger problems than getting the steel ball off the ground.