The article is a bit fluffy and the headline completely misleading. It's proposed to get things to orbit by launching them up decently high and fast where the device then uses fuel to actually reach orbit.
Articles around SpinLaunch seem to be popping up lately which is a bit odd considering it's been ~2 years since they've done any testing and I've haven't seen any actual new announcements in these new articles yet.
Looks like a liquid-fuel rocket engine? Wow. That's got to be one heck of a hydraulic hammer when it hits 10,000g.
What kind of rocket engine have they designed that could survive this? Obviously it's not going to be a conventional turbopump; those things have micron tolerances, no way those could withstand 10,000g and still work. Probably they're doing some kind of pressure-fed engine (the fuel tanks held at high pressure, probably by compressed helium). They don't seem to publicly answer these questions, anywhere on their website? That's credibility-hurting.
There've been rocket engines built in the past that can survive low 100's of g's, at least. Those were exotic solid-fuel designs, intended as air-defense missiles.
I didn't see mentioned the size of payload compatible with this type of launch. I also didn't see anything about how loud it is, but I'd imagine it is quiet compared to a rocket launch. Would the payload be large enough to create a sonic boom on launch?
It's also just so much less dramatic visually compared to a rocket launch. It just feels anticlimactic. Still cool and interesting none-the-less.
I the 2022 test flights that the article mentions would have been from their smaller, vertical-throwing suborbital prototype. Last I saw they had kind of gone silent since 2023. The news page on their website [https://www.spinlaunch.com/in-the-news] hasn't posted any updates in almost a year.
I assume means they haven't successfully scaled up to the orbital launcher yet. Perhaps they're having trouble securing funding. Perhaps they're having trouble working out some engineering problems or securing a site for the facility. Or maybe things are just taking time. I'm guessing, though, that this is a situation where no news is definitely not good news.
How can this possibly work without at least some maneuvering rocket fuel? If the catapult is on the ground, any ballistic trajectory it can achieve intersects the ground. You can blast stuff into space, sure, but orbit? And the closer to a circular trajectory you get, the shallower the launch angle, and the more velocity-sapping atmosphere you have to plough through before you get to space.
I think Newton is on the phone...
Once the accelerating force is removed the object will go into an orbit that includes the point at which the force stops. This however is Earth
What about just launching up drones with big batteries to pretty respectable altitudes, that can then go e-refuel other drones?
Air power delivery has been a long little "wouldn't it be cool" notion for me. This just feels like it could be a good way to boost this idea, get it off the ground. Ok sorry about that.
As long as your satellite can withstand 10,000 Gs, spinlaunch will work great.
Founded in 2014, SpinLaunch has secured significant funding and has collaborated with major organizations like NASA, Airbus, and Cornell University, using their equipment in various tests. The technology has successfully withstood forces of up to 10,000 Gs, equivalent to 10,000 times Earth's gravitational pull, demonstrating its robustness.
Hopefully the minds behind it don't go the way of arty genius gone rogue Gerald Bull: "NARRATOR: To the end of his days, Bull was obsessed with what he saw as the injustice of his four‑month jail term."
The article is a bit fluffy and the headline completely misleading. It's proposed to get things to orbit by launching them up decently high and fast where the device then uses fuel to actually reach orbit.
Articles around SpinLaunch seem to be popping up lately which is a bit odd considering it's been ~2 years since they've done any testing and I've haven't seen any actual new announcements in these new articles yet.
https://youtu.be/TGO4LtCctTk?t=22
Looks like a liquid-fuel rocket engine? Wow. That's got to be one heck of a hydraulic hammer when it hits 10,000g.
What kind of rocket engine have they designed that could survive this? Obviously it's not going to be a conventional turbopump; those things have micron tolerances, no way those could withstand 10,000g and still work. Probably they're doing some kind of pressure-fed engine (the fuel tanks held at high pressure, probably by compressed helium). They don't seem to publicly answer these questions, anywhere on their website? That's credibility-hurting.
There've been rocket engines built in the past that can survive low 100's of g's, at least. Those were exotic solid-fuel designs, intended as air-defense missiles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_(missile)
I didn't see mentioned the size of payload compatible with this type of launch. I also didn't see anything about how loud it is, but I'd imagine it is quiet compared to a rocket launch. Would the payload be large enough to create a sonic boom on launch?
It's also just so much less dramatic visually compared to a rocket launch. It just feels anticlimactic. Still cool and interesting none-the-less.
I'm not sure if this is reporting anything new?
I the 2022 test flights that the article mentions would have been from their smaller, vertical-throwing suborbital prototype. Last I saw they had kind of gone silent since 2023. The news page on their website [https://www.spinlaunch.com/in-the-news] hasn't posted any updates in almost a year.
I assume means they haven't successfully scaled up to the orbital launcher yet. Perhaps they're having trouble securing funding. Perhaps they're having trouble working out some engineering problems or securing a site for the facility. Or maybe things are just taking time. I'm guessing, though, that this is a situation where no news is definitely not good news.
Wow, I didn't realize they'd successfully put satellites in orbit already!
edit: turns out they haven't, the article is just poorly written.
https://hn.algolia.com/?q=spinlaunch
How can this possibly work without at least some maneuvering rocket fuel? If the catapult is on the ground, any ballistic trajectory it can achieve intersects the ground. You can blast stuff into space, sure, but orbit? And the closer to a circular trajectory you get, the shallower the launch angle, and the more velocity-sapping atmosphere you have to plough through before you get to space.
The problem is they are using a catapult.... If they were using a trebuchet they would have no issues.
Thunderf00t made a great 2 part video series about Spin launch on YouTube, and how their science doesn't make sense. Busted!!
I think Newton is on the phone... Once the accelerating force is removed the object will go into an orbit that includes the point at which the force stops. This however is Earth
Next startup idea: have the satellite stay in place while we move the earth until satellite is at proper distance. We'll figure out details after IPO.
Isn´t this the entire plot of Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" ?
How fast is the payload when it leaves the launch tube?
What about just launching up drones with big batteries to pretty respectable altitudes, that can then go e-refuel other drones?
Air power delivery has been a long little "wouldn't it be cool" notion for me. This just feels like it could be a good way to boost this idea, get it off the ground. Ok sorry about that.
As long as your satellite can withstand 10,000 Gs, spinlaunch will work great.
Founded in 2014, SpinLaunch has secured significant funding and has collaborated with major organizations like NASA, Airbus, and Cornell University, using their equipment in various tests. The technology has successfully withstood forces of up to 10,000 Gs, equivalent to 10,000 times Earth's gravitational pull, demonstrating its robustness.
Hopefully the minds behind it don't go the way of arty genius gone rogue Gerald Bull: "NARRATOR: To the end of his days, Bull was obsessed with what he saw as the injustice of his four‑month jail term."
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/wgbh/pages/frontline/prog...
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