Spaceport America, New Mexico has SpinLaunch, an alternative launch company. This system spins an arm that propels rockets towards the sky.
A new rocket-launching system has just been launched.
SpinLaunch, a California-based company, flew the launch test of its kinetic-energy-based system in New Mexico on October 22. CEO Jonathan Yaney said that the flight reached an altitude "tens of thousand of feet." CNBC first reported the launch test. The flight can be viewed here.
Venture capital has raised more than $110million for the company's system. It spins a small rocket at hypersonic speeds on the ground. The final design of the rocket will shoot up into the air once it is released. It will then turn on conventional chemical propulsion to propel it to orbit.
SpinLaunch was quiet for many years about its progress, even before this launch. Yaney stated Tuesday, November 9, that he believes the more ambitious and insane a project is, the more you will be able to work on it instead of talking about it. "We had to prove that we could do this."
Similar: Take a Tour of Spaceport America. (Photos).
SpinLaunch uses a spinning arm for rocket acceleration and to fling it into space to reduce launch costs. SpinLaunch image credit
SpinLaunch was established in 2014. It is one of many firms that are trying to lower the cost of launching. SpinLaunch believes that fuel costs will be reduced, which is one of the main barriers to affordable spaceflight. Other companies are also looking for cost-saving strategies, such as 3D printing parts like rocket engines or reusing key launch systems.
Yaney explained to CNBC that SpinLaunch used a suborbital accelerator on a one-third scale for the first test flight. The scale accelerator measures more than 300 feet (91 metres) high, which is roughly equivalent to that of the Statue of Liberty.
After running the projectile through the vacuum chamber with a rotating arm on the accelerator, the rocket was lifted to the sky from Spaceport America in New Mexico at approximately 20% of its full power.
Yaney stated that the test projectile travels "as fast as the orbital systems needs which is many thousands miles per hour." He added that the test will enable them to validate their aerodynamic models of what orbital launch vehicles look like and to... test new technologies in the area of release mechanisms.
SpinLaunch did not use a rocket engine for the first test flight, but it plans to add one to future suborbital flights. Yaney stated that the company plans to seek reusability of newer rockets. However, engineers had to retrieve the first test rocket, which was "absolutely flyable".
Yaney stated that SpinLaunch is working on a full-scale rocket system, but the design work is still ongoing.
The company believes that the booster will not face the same problems as fuel-carrying rockets. A typical rocket must push its own weight, the fuel mass and the payload off of the ground. SpinLaunch claims that the rocket's size can be decreased by not having to carry as much fuel.
The business is still in development for other areas. Yaney stated that the company is looking for a "coastal location" other than Spaceport America to host its operational launches. This would allow it to "support dozens of launches per hour," Yaney said to CNBC.
CNBC was also not able to get much information about the company's customer base. However, SpinLaunch did sign a 2019 "launch prototype contract” with the Department of Defense.
The investors in the $35 million round of fundraising that it completed in January 2020 were Airbus Ventures (GV), KPCB, Catapult Ventures (KPCB), Lauder Partners, John Doerr, Byers Family, and Catapult Ventures. SpinLaunch had been planning to fly its first operational flight in 2022 back then.
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