The on-board cam will show the SpinLaunch test payload soaring.
A new video gives us a look at the space startup SpinLaunch.
SpinLaunch will use a rotating arm to propel rockets to tremendous speeds on terra firma and then fling them high into the sky, where they will light up their engines and power their way to orbit. SpinLaunch will be able to loft satellites at a low cost and high cadence thanks to this novel methodology.
SpinLaunch has been testing the idea out using a suborbital accelerator built at Spaceport America in New Mexico. On April 22, the California-based company conducted its eighth flight test from the facility, slinging a 10-foot-long (3 m) test vehicle into the sky.
Space travel and exploration is Incredible technology.
The vehicle carried a camera for the first time. On April 28, the company posted some of the resulting footage on the internet.
The video shows the New Mexico desert spinning rapidly beneath the vehicle. Those with weak stomachs will not be worried, as the spin slows and we see the blackness of space.
The recent video shows that putting a camera on the test vehicle had a definite gee-whiz value. SpinLaunch did it because of that.
The company representatives said in a description of the video that flying with the digital camera system onboard marks an important step towards integrating complex payloads into SpinLaunch flight test vehicles.
SpinLaunch recently announced that NASA has signed on to loft a payload using the suborbital accelerator, on a test flight expected to occur later this year.
SpinLaunch aims to achieve orbital flight by the year 2025. The company says it will announce soon the location of the first launch.
Mike Wall is the author of Out There, a book about the search for alien life. You can follow him on social media. Follow us on social media.
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