The Neo-Babylonian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 626 BC and ended in 539 BC. During the preceding three centuries, Babylonia had been ruled by their fellow Akkadian speakers and northern neighbours, Assyria.
In order for a satellite to successfully orbit the Earth, it must travel a horizontal distance of 8000 meters before falling a vertical distance of 5 meters. A horizontally launched projectile falls a vertical distance of 5 meters in its first second of motion.
Answer Wiki. If a rocket went straight up, it would either continue in that direction and leave Earth, or it would fall back down, depending on its velocity. Most rockets intend to enter orbit, which is an elliptical trajectory, and it's much more efficient to arc into this trajectory than to go straight up and then accelerate laterally.