Last week, a company called SpinLaunch completed its tenth successful launch in the New Mexico desert using a Suborbital Accelerator – what can be compared to a slingshot. In the most recent launch (video below), payloads from NASA, Airbus, Cornell University and satellite delivery company Outpost were launched with a special rocket.
The main purpose of the test was to see if the precision scientific equipment on the rocket could withstand the intense G-force produced by the Sub-Orbital Accelerator.
The basis of the system is to launch an object into space at a speed of about 8,046 kilometers per hour with a 12 meter high centrifuge. When the object reaches sufficient velocity, it is sent out of the barrel of the accelerator.
NASA’s payload included a Data Acquisition Unit (DAQ) equipped with an array of sensors including two accelerometers, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, and sensors for pressure, temperature, and humidity. After landing, the DAQ was recovered and researchers are now reviewing the data it collected.
You can watch the video of the mission below:
Although its main goal is to reach the space limit, a maximum of 7,620 meters has been reached in the tests carried out so far. But once the system is successful, it will now be much cheaper to send something into space. The firm says it will achieve this goal in 2025.
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