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Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Giant spinning cannon could blast hundreds of pancake-like 'microsatellites' into space
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A California-based startup plans to launch hundreds of flattened "microsatellites" into low-Earth orbit at once, by firing rockets out of a giant centrifugal cannon. The first batch of pancake-like spacecraft could be shot into space as soon as next year — and could set a new record. SpinLaunch is a private company that aims to fire payloads into space using giant, cannon-like machines. These "cannons" accelerate spacecraft using spinning arms inside a vacuum-sealed chamber, before shooting them upward out of a barrel faster than a speeding bullet. Using this novel technology, the company aims to establish its own satellite constellation, Meridian Space, which they claim could provide more cost-effective competition to the likes of SpaceX's Starlink network. On April 3, SpinLaunch revealed that it had received $12 million in funding from Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (KDA), putting its total funding close to $150 million. The announcement also revealed that KDA's NanoAvionics had been selected to build the first batch of 250 satellites in the Meridian Space constellation, which could be launched during an in-orbit demonstration test planned for some point in 2026. On the same day, NanoAvionics also released a video explaining more about the new satellites. This revealed that each satellite will be shaped like a flat disk and placed on top of one another inside a "launch bus," like a giant stack of pancakes. Each satellite will be 7.5 feet (2.2 meters) wide and weigh approximately 154 pounds (70 kilograms), making them significantly lighter than most other communications satellites. For example, Starlink's current V2 satellites weigh around 1,760 pounds (800 kg) each. If all the satellites are successfully delivered into low-Earth orbit (LEO) next year, it would set a new record for most spacecraft launched at once, currently held by SpaceX's Transporter-1 mission, which launched 143 satellites in 2021, according to Live Science's sister site Related: Futuristic, 'alien-like' nuclear fusion rockets developed in total secret could revolutionize space travel — if they actually work SpinLaunch has previously launched 10 rockets using its Suborbital Accelerator in New Mexico, which has a vacuum chamber around 108 feet (33 m) wide and spins objects to speeds of up to 5,000 mph (8,000 km/h). The most recent launch, in September 2022, successfully delivered multiple payloads into suborbit for the first time, previously reported. During these test launches, the acceleration process took up to 30 minutes, and the rockets experienced up to 10,000 Gs of force before being fired into the upper atmosphere. (One G is equivalent to the force exerted on an object by Earth's gravity.) Details of next year's orbital demonstration are limited, but the mission will likely be carried out using the same machine as the previous tests. This means that the rocket will be catapulted into a suborbital flight before its engines kick in and deliver the final push needed to put the payload into LEO, according to The main draw of this type of launch system is that it is much cheaper than firing chemical rockets. SpinLaunch predicts that its future commercial launches could cost between $1,250 and $2,500 per kilogram launched into space, which is less than half the cost of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets, which cost around $6,000 per kilogram, according to New Space Economy. Since the accelerated rockets don't release any greenhouse gases during launch, they are also better for the environment than chemical rockets. These spacecraft also do not need boosters that have to be discarded in space, which will mean less space junk in LEO and reduced chances of discarded equipment falling back to Earth's surface. SpinLaunch is only planning to launch around 1,200 of satellites in its Meridian Space constellation. However, once this is completed, the company is planning to build a larger Orbital Accelerator machine — with a 328-foot-wide (100 m) chamber — that will be capable of firing payloads for other companies directly into LEO, without the rockets having to fire at all. If this happens, SpinLaunch claims it could eventually launch up to five commercial payloads into space every single day, according to New Space Economy. RELATED STORIES —NASA signs new contract to use SpaceX's Starship — even though it keeps blowing up —'A notch above a gimmick': Experts question scientific merit of billionaire's Fram2 'space adventure' around Earth's poles —Dying SpaceX rocket triggers giant spiral of light above UK and Europe during secret mission However, this could lead to more problems further down the road. If this ambitious launch frequency were achieved, it could exacerbate problems that communications satellites and other commercial payloads are causing in LEO, including an increased chance of spacecraft collisions, more light pollution in the night sky, radio signals that interfere with astronomy and atmospheric metal pollution caused by spacecraft re-entires.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SpinLaunch wants to send 250 broadband 'microsatellites' to orbit with a single launch
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. SpinLaunch has unveiled its plans for a new broadband satellite constellation known as Meridian Space. The Meridian Space constellation will consist of small "microsatellites" that can be sent to low-Earth orbit with as many as 250 spacecraft on a single launch vehicle, according to SpinLaunch. The company received $12M in funding from Kongsberg NanoAvionics to help develop and commercialize the satellites, with a planned launch date of 2026 for its first on-orbit demonstrator. It's unclear if SpinLaunch will be launching the demonstrator itself with its revolutionary rocket-flinging centrifuge or if it will hitch a ride on another rocket. The Meridian Space constellation will provide "significantly higher broadband capacity in a satellite constellation compared with what is available on the market today," said Eirik Lie, president of Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace, in a statement. David Wrenn, CEO of SpinLaunch, added that NanoAvionics' small, modular satellite platforms offer "a reliable foundation to scale our constellation quickly and confidently." Along with the statement announcing the partnership, SpinLaunch shared an image of a stack of Meridian Space satellites atop a launch vehicle. The flat satellites appear to stack on top of on another, hinting at how the company plans to fit 250 of the spacecraft on a single rocket. If SpinLaunch can successfully loft 250 satellites at once, it would set a new record for spacecraft launched by a single flight. That record currently stands at 143, set by SpaceX's Transporter-1 mission in 2021. SpinLaunch aims to disrupt the launch services market with its wild new concept for reaching orbit. The company is developing a 108-foot-long (33-meter) spinning arm that accelerates launch vehicles to high speeds inside a centrifuge before flinging them into the sky. Once at altitude, the flung rockets then ignite their engines. The concept greatly reduces the amount of fuel and hardware needed to reach orbit. NASA signed an agreement with the company in 2022 for a technology demonstration that saw third-party experiments from the agency, Airbus and Cornell University lofted to suborbital space with the centrifuge.
