[LibWhacker]

Oops, almost forgot. Click to watch YouTube video of this camera launch =>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEVD9k2GLXk

[sonova]

Oh yeah, that’s a winner.

[marktwain]

If they can get it to low earth orbit, it is a big deal.

Think how much cheaper it will be to send food, fuel, and water into space.

[Husker24]

Neat idea, but wouldn’t it be very hard on delicate components?

[sevlex]

A Space Age trebuchet!

[TChad]

Nice.

[usurper]

The video shows the projectile spinning violently as it erupts from the mass accelerator to a maximum test altitude of 25,000 feet (7,620 meters).

It looked a heck of a lot higher than 25K which is not very high.

[DevNulled]

— First customer launches are planned for 2025 —

I wish I was a natural born comedian because there is something so funny about that line that I just know is riffable

[Born in 1950]

Frank Richards scoffs bring it on!

[algore]

I considered this 30 years ago, you would try to launch from the top of a mountain.

Although my plan is acually workable (unlike this one)

I designed this as a way to dispose of nuke waste.

[Deaf Smith]

1000 mph = 1466.667 fps…pistol range velocity.

5000mph = 7333.333 fps.

The M1A1 firing a sabot round is 3500 mph which is 5133.333 fps.

The Remington 30-06 accelerator fires a .223 at 4000 fps (which I have no idea where that pill went to).

Will 7333.333 fps over come air friction and gravity to make Earth orbit?

[eyeamok]

since it’s completely electrical, it offers a sustainable solution that doesn’t pollute the environment.

Is it Magic Electricity that just appears out of nowhere and works??

[Deaf Smith]

Sorry I killed your thread with algore’s help.

[DiogenesLamp]

This is a nutzo idea.

[DesertRhino]

I managed to stumble across this place last month. It is in one - remote - place in southern NM.

[minnesota_bound]

Line these up and fire 5,000mph Rods from Gods at our enemies.

[Jim Noble]

Orbital velocity is 18,000 mph (approximately).

This system delivers 1000 mph for tiny payloads.

[Svartalfiar]

SpinLaunch Larger Version to Launch Payloads to Orbit What’s even more interesting is that the SpinLaunch suborbital mass accelerator is a one-third scaled-down model for testing, and so far has only fired projectiles at a fraction of the speed it is capable of achieving. The company plans on building a larger version of the accelerator, which is capable of launching a payload in excess of 440 pounds (200 kg) and at speeds of over 5,000 miles an hour, plenty of speed to reach low earth orbit.

And while the test was deemed a huge success, the real important milestone was for the camera itself to survive the intense G forces that build up in bringing the mass accelerator up to its 1,000-mile speed. To do so means that SpinLaunch will continue to be able to document launches onboard the payloads, as they become larger and heavier, and do it without destroying the cameras themselves.

The survivability of the cameras, which will soon become more advanced and heavier, also indicates that delicate scientific instruments meant for low earth orbit will also be able to withstand the stress of launch without breaking.

What a load of crap. The camera survived now, so they know even more delicate instruments will survive the full-scale model? The current one is 1/3 size, and wasn't 'shooting' at full capability (only a 'fraction of the speeds' it's capable of). Assuming the 1/3 size is the radius/diameter, a full-scale model is TEN TIMES bigger (circum=pi*r²). Not to mention, centripetal G forces from the centrifuge are 90° from G forces once the projectile is released. They need to consider both, as well as the shock from hitting the stationary air on release. That's probably gonna hurt a bit!

Also, getting to low earth orbit is barely the first step. You also need a lateral velocity to stay in low earth orbit, instead of simply falling straight back to earth. How do these projectiles manage that? For LEO, they need to hit, depending on orbit radius, somewhere around 17-20,000 mph. Since they don't carry fuel (per the article, makes for safer launches), what gets these satellites moving once they're high enough? Not to mention drag from the atmosphere at those altitudes, what keeps them moving higher/faster to stay in orbit and not decay back into Earth?

[Colorado Doug]

I think that I watched Wiley E. Coyote using a system like this once. I believe that ACME holds the patent on the technology.