The US Space Agency has pledged to test SpinLaunch’s extraordinary space launch technology, accelerating a launch vehicle to hypersonic speeds using an electric centrifuge rather than a rocket.
Payloads propelled at more than 8,000 km/h
While the idea of spinning and catapulting satellites may seem far-fetched at first glance, during initial testing, the kinetic launch system of SpinLaunchwhose outward appearance is reminiscent of a turbocharger, has shown promise as an environmentally friendly and potentially cost-effective alternative to traditional launches.
Its long carbon fiber arm, capable of expelling its payload at a hair-raising speed of 8,047 km/h, more than six times the speed of sound, could ensure the initial propulsion phase of launchers weighing up to 200 kilos, carrying ultra-robust satellites capable of withstanding 10,000 G. Once in the upper atmosphere, a rocket would take over and give them the final push towards orbit.
According to SpinLaunchwhich counts on several dozen daily launches of this type, such an approach would make it possible to eliminate the first stage of the rocket from the launch vehicle (corresponding to a reduction of around 70% in the quantity of fuel on board) and to divide by twenty the cost of putting small satellites into orbit.
A first test flight in partnership with NASA later this year
Scheduled for later this year, the test flight carried out in partnership with the NASA will take the form of a slower suborbital launch (Mach 1.3, i.e. approximately 1,600 km/h) from a base located at New Mexico. The payload will be designed to take a series of measurements, which will be analyzed by the two groups, in preparation for a first orbital launch in 2025.
” What started as an innovative idea to make space more accessible has materialized into a technically mature and groundbreaking launch approach. “, said SpinLaunch in a press release. ” With the industry planning to launch ten times as many satellites over the next decade, the need to develop environmentally friendly space access technology is more urgent than ever.. »
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