Sources who’ve spoken to the SpinLaunch team
tell me the idea is to create a much cheaper and sustainable way to get
things like satellites from earth into space without chemical
propellant. Using a catapult would sidestep the heavy fuel and expensive
booster rockets used by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
SpinLaunch plans to use a centrifuge spinning at an incredible rate.
All that momentum is then harnessed to catapult a payload into space at
speeds one source said could be around 3,000 miles per hour. With enough
momentum, objects could be flung into space on their own.
Alternatively, the catapult could provide some of the power needed with
cargo being equipped with supplemental rockets necessary to leave
earth’s atmosphere.
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