Space Innovative Company Launches Livelihood's Waste into Orbit, Amazingly, the Spacecraft Endured
Space Innovative Company Launches Livelihood's Waste into Orbit, Amazingly, the Spacecraft Endured
SpinLaunch has proven that satellites can withstand more than one might expect, demonstrating this through a recent experiment. They accelerated a commercial satellite with enhanced durability components under extreme gravitational forces, utilizing minor modifications and a bit of adhesive to hold it together.
In a trial, SpinLaunch subjected a pre-existing satellite to a spin at 10,000Gs within a laboratory, showcasing the spacecraft's ability to endure high-speed acceleration. This achievement is significant for the company, which aims to establish a groundbreaking centrifugal launch system capable of delivering small satellites to low-Earth orbit.
Sev Sandomirsky, SpinLaunch's director of satellite programs, explained the demonstration's value to potential launch clients in an email to Gizmodo. "This testing lays the groundwork for the creation of various payloads, including satellites that foster groundbreaking scientific research and contribute to the global economy," Sandomirsky said.
For the test, SpinLaunch collaborated with Portland State University's open-source CubeSat program, OreSat. SpinLaunch engineers made a few adjustments to the small satellite, notably rotating the battery cells to act as columns that sustained their weight, affixing additional adhesive behind the cells, upgrading the satellite's structural material to stronger aluminum, and reinforcing portions of the circuit boards to protect sensitive components. Sandomirsky noted that these fundamental alterations ensured the satellite's compatibility with SpinLaunch.
Astonishingly, the 1U CubeSat utilized in the demonstration only required minor adjustments to withstand 10,000Gs. "Our years of testing satellite subsystems in our accelerator have shown that many components of contemporary satellites are already capable of withstanding high-g environments," Sandomirsky stated. "We do not claim that every component or technology can endure our launch conditions, but we have proven that high-performance, cost-effective satellites can be launched using our launch system."
Established in 2014, SpinLaunch endeavors to create a budget-friendly, eco-friendly method for delivering payloads to space. The company plans to develop a kinetic launch system, essentially a large centrifuge engineered to catapult objects to high altitudes. Upon reaching stratospheric heights, a propulsion stage assumes control to complete the journey to low-Earth orbit. SpinLaunch asserts that its launch system will result in a 10-fold decrease in launch costs and a 70% reduction in fuel usage compared to chemical rockets.
While it may seem too good to be true, the company is progressively moving towards its vision. SpinLaunch has garnered success with testing its suborbital 108-foot (33-meter) accelerator A-33 at Spaceport America, New Mexico. During its inaugural test in October 2021, the accelerator, operating at 20% capacity, propelled a 10-foot projectile to an altitude of tens of thousands of feet. Approximately a year later, SpinLaunch launched a Test Launch Vehicle containing demonstration payloads for NASA, Airbus, Cornell University, and satellite manufacturer Outpost Space.
In an email statement to Gizmodo, SpinLaunch CEO David Wrenn asserted that the company's kinetic launch system could lower costs, increase launch frequency, facilitate sustainable space exploration, and "open new possibilities" for satellite constellations.
The company recently secured $11.5 million in a recent funding round, which it will utilize to develop its launch system and submit additional satellites to the stunning test.
The successful endurance of the 1U CubeSat during the 10,000Gs test indicates a promising future for satellites that can withstand harsh space conditions, potentially paving the way for advanced technology and science in space exploration. Furthermore, SpinLaunch's vision of creating an eco-friendly, budget-friendly launch system could significantly impact the future of space travel, making it more accessible for various scientific pursuits and commercial applications.