A space startup orbits a satellite and it actually survives

SpinLaunch just proved that satellites are a lot tougher than thought. In its pursuit of catapulting payloads into space, the Californian startup recently accelerated a small satellite under the influence of extreme gravity using minor modifications and a little glue to hold it together. :

At a recent demonstration, SpinLaunch tested a satellite with several rigid components for the first time, spinning it up to 10,000 Gs in the lab to prove the spacecraft could survive massive acceleration, a milestone for the company, which is seeking to build a breakthrough centrifugal launch vehicle system that can deliver small satellites into low Earth orbit.

“For prospective launch customers, (the demonstration) serves as a valuable engineering case study and helps answer the general question of how to build a satellite for SpinLaunch,” Sev Sandomirsky, director of satellite programs at SpinLaunch, told Gizmodo. This testing is the basis for a wide variety of payloads, including satellites, that enable critical science and power the global economy.”

For the test, SpinLaunch partnered with OreSat, an open-source CubeSat program at Portland State University. The space launch made several design tweaks to the small satellite: Notably, SpinLaunch engineers rotated the battery cells to act as pillars, supporting their weight along their long axis, and added a bit of adhesive behind the cells. The engineering team also upgraded the satellite structure from aluminum 6061 to aluminum 7075. , which is known for its greater strength and has reinforced larger parts of the circuit boards to minimize stress on sensitive components relatively minimal, these key adjustments ensured the satellite’s structural compatibility for SpinLaunch,” said Sandomirski.

Surprisingly, the 1U CubeSat used for the demonstration required only a small number of modifications to survive at 10,000 Gs. Sandomirski added: “We don’t claim that every component or technology can survive in our launch environment, but we have proven that high-performance, cost-effective satellites can be launched with our launch system.”

Founded in 2014, SpinLaunch is developing a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to launch payloads into space.The company wants to build a kinetic launch system, essentially a giant centrifuge designed to catapult objects to high altitudes at stratospheric altitudes, the propulsion phase ends in low Earth orbit.SpinLaunch claims that its the launch system will result in a 10-fold reduction in launch costs and a 70% reduction in fuel usage compared to chemical rockets.

It almost sounds too good to be true, but the company is slowly approaching its vision. SpinLaunch successfully tested its 108-foot (33-meter) suborbital accelerator A-33 at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert the first test In October 2021, the accelerator, operating at 20% capacity, launched a 10-foot projectile to an altitude of tens of thousands of feet. A little over a year later, SpinLaunch launched a test launch vehicle filled with demo payloads for NASA, Airbus, Cornell University and satellite manufacturer Outpost Space.