SpinLaunch, a California-based startup that is creating a spinning arm capable of launching tiny satellites into near-Earth orbit, has completed its tenth successful test launch in less than a year. On September 27, SpinLaunch's Suborbital Accelerator technology launched the company's flying vehicle into orbit from a base at Spaceport America in New Mexico. The vehicle housed a variety of third-party experiments for the first time, including those from NASA, Airbus, and Cornell University. More than 150 people watched as the accelerator, which resembled a big sky-facing rifle, launched its space-bound projectile into the air.
We completed our tenth test flight today, demonstrating that it is a system that is consistently dependable. SpinLaunch's Founder and CEO, Jonathan Yaney, stated in a video posted to YouTube on Tuesday (Oct.4). This is hardly a rocket, and certainly, our ability to complete this many tests in just eleven months and have them all work as expected is a credit to the nature of our technology.
The 10th successful flight, according to the business, was a significant milestone for SpinLaunch since it revealed that common satellite components are fundamentally compatible with SpinLaunch's launch environment.
The accelerator's client payloads had to withstand up to 10,000 Gs (10,000 times the force of Earth's gravity) while the 108-foot-long (33-meter) spinning arm disguised behind a white casing whirled up the payload faster than the speed of sound. The most recent test flight took occurred barely a week after the business announced a $71 million Series B fundraising round.
Flight Test 10 marks a watershed moment for SpinLaunch, with the Suborbital Accelerator system being accessible to consumers, strategic partners, and research organizations, according to Yaney. The data and insights gained from flight testing will be crucial for both SpinLaunch as we continue to build the Orbital Launch system and for our clients who rely on us to deliver low-cost, high-cadence, sustainable access to space. SpinLaunch, which was created in 2014, successfully completed its maiden suborbital flight in 2021. The company's ultimate goal is to create an orbital launch mechanism that is less expensive and less harmful to the environment than fuel-guzzling rockets. According to the business, the full-scale orbital accelerator may launch small constellations of satellites into low Earth orbit, the zone below 600 miles (1,000 kilometers), as early as 2026.