An innovative new method of launching payloads into orbit is set to be tested by NASA and could be a game-changer for the sector, improving space accessibility and driving down emissions.
Suborbital Accelerator Launch System. Credit: SpinLaunch
The Suborbital Accelerator Launch System. Credit: SpinLaunch
The US space agency has signed a Space Act Agreement with Californian space startup SpinLaunch to develop its Suborbital Accelerator Launch System with an eye to holding the first orbital test flight in 2025.
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Comprising of a 91 metre (300 ft) diameter steel vacuum chamber with a large rotating carbon fibre arm inside. The test will see a NASA launch vehicle containing a satellite propelled skywards at speeds of up to 8,000 km per hour (5,000 mph), making it faster than rockets.
SpinLaunch claims that the hypersonic launch speeds are achieved through leveraging existing hardware and commonly available materials, without the need for technological advances and using 70% less fuel than a rocket would.
Once in the stratosphere, the satellite given the necessary push to be positioned into orbit using a "small, inexpensive" propulsion system.
If the trial is successful, it would achieve the rare feat of not only slashing emissions and journey time but significantly reducing the cost of putting payloads into orbit.
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"SpinLaunch is offering a unique suborbital flight and high-speed testing service, and the recent launch agreement with NASA marks a key inflexion point as SpinLaunch shifts focus from technology development to commercial offerings," said Jonathan Yaney, Founder and CEO of SpinLaunch.
"What started as an innovative idea to make space more accessible has materialised into a technically mature and game-changing approach to launch."
SpinLaunch conducted its first test flight in October 2021 from Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert. Since then, regular tests have been held where payloads have been catapulted into the sky at speeds of more than 1,600 km per hour (1,000 mph), though no attempts have been made to reach orbit yet.
Low Earth Orbit constellations of small, inexpensive satellites are in increasingly high demand for global communications, disaster monitoring, national security and weather prediction and the market is almost certain to keep growing.
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"Through these turnkey space solutions, SpinLaunch is helping customers eliminate the cost, time, and complexity constraints currently driving space-related business models – ultimately delivering less expensive, scalable access to space," said SpinLaunch in a press release.
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