A HUGE slingshot has hurled its first Nasa payload on a test flight that could pave the way for a new method of sending satellites into orbit.
Spaceflight technology firm SpinLaunch’s groundbreaking Orbital Accelerator launches objects using a rotating carbon-fibre arm housed within a 300ft-wide steel vacuum chamber.
It’s able to fling a launch vehicle containing a satellite at up to 5,000 miles per hour into the stratosphere.
The technique is touted as a cheap alternative to rocket launches, which cost tens of millions of dollars per flight.
The test, SpinLaunch’s 10th successful launch, was carried out from Spaceport America in New Mexico on September 27.
It’s part of a series of trials that will determine whether scientific payloads and satellites could survive the stress of the procedure.
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The test included payloads from NASA, Airbus, Cornell University and satellite maker Output Space.
Jonathan Yaney, founder and CEO of SpinLaunch, said: “Flight Test 10 represents a key inflection point for SpinLaunch, as we’ve opened the Suborbital Accelerator system externally for our customers, strategic partners, and research groups,
“The data and insights collected from flight tests will be invaluable for both SpinLaunch, as we further the development of the Orbital Launch system, and for our customers who are looking to us to provide them with low-cost, high-cadence, sustainable access to space.
The A-33 Suborbital Mass Accelerator system features a disc-shaped accelerator powered by a powerful electric drive.
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It spins payloads at thousands of miles per hour before releasing them at the top of the structure through the launch tube.
By doing so, over 70 per cent of the fuel and structures that make up a typical rocket can be eliminated.
The company uses existing industrial hardware and commonly available materials to construct the innovative accelerator system.
It’s able to reach hypersonic launch speeds without the need for any major advancements in material science or technology.
The firm announced in April that they had signed a Space Act Agreement with Nasa.
The deal gives Nasa a spot on future flights to test its own payloads on the system.
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