SpinLaunch receives prototype contract from DOD

[Winston]

https://www.spinlaunch.com/

June 19, 2019
LONG BEACH, Calif.--Jonathan Yaney, founder and CEO of SpinLaunch, has announced that the company has been awarded a responsive launch prototype contract from the Department of Defense (DOD), facilitated by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).

How is Spinlaunch different from existing launch capabilities?

SpinLaunch is the only proposed launch system to employ ground-based kinetic energy in a secure structure to launch its payloads without rockets. Since the beginning of the space program, ground-based non-rocket launch systems, such as rail guns and ram accelerators have been proposed to achieve this goal, however all have employed unproven technologies with cost-prohibitive initial capital investment. This is how SpinLaunch is different.

What is SpinLaunch’s approach to cutting the costs?

SpinLaunch utilizes existing technology and components from oil/gas/mining and wind turbine industries to construct an innovative mass acceleration system, which achieves very high launch speeds without the need for enormous power generation or massive infrastructure. After ascending above the atmosphere, a relatively small, low-cost onboard rocket will be used to provide the final required velocity for orbital insertion. Because the majority of the energy required to reach orbit is sourced from ground-based electricity, as opposed to complex onboard rocket propulsion, total launch cost is reduced by an order of magnitude over existing launch systems. Due to its unique technology, SpinLaunch is able to offer readily-available, low cost, dedicated launches at high frequencies. SpinLaunch is working to provide up to five launches per day at a price of $250,000 / launch.

Has SpinLaunch received financial support?

In April 2018, Spinlaunch announced that it had raised $40M in initial seed funding from prominent Silicon Valley venture capital companies: Airbus Ventures, GV (Alphabet), and Kleiner Perkins, as well as institutional investors Lauder Partners, ATW Partners, Bolt, Starlight Ventures, Neotribe and Catapult Ventures. Funds will be used to scale the SpinLaunch team and technology through first launch by 2022.

 

[cmp]

I am surprised this post got no comments. I find it difficult to believe this is a viable satellite launcher and wonder what the investors know that the public does not. The Quicklaunch method seems easier to understand and yet it got nowhere.
In the end I am hoping Spinlaunch works. Love the idea even if I don't have the details.

 

[bad_idea]

SpinLaunch have recently broken cover and released more detail - including some nifty videos - on their rather annoyingly effects-heavy website:

https://www.spinlaunch.com/
Given the potential to achieve mass-driver-like results with much less infrastructure, the idea seems to have a lot of promise for the moon and other minimal-atmospheric bodies, but whether or not it's worth trying on Earth I have no idea. Certainly this is a risky time to enter the launch market with rideshares (paired with ion thrusters for repositioning) and reusabilty driving down launch prices, many new startups coming to market, and Starship potentially changing the game again soon.

From a hobby-rocketry point of view, I got a kick from seeing how Big-Daddy-esque the aeroshell in this photo appears. (May only be a mock-up, since the aeroshells of both the suborbital test vehicle and the rendered orbital vehicle seem to have different fins.)



Scott Manley just released a video about SpinLaunch which I've yet to have time to watch:

 

[OverTheTop]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/09/spinlaunch-completes-first-test-flight-of-alternative-rocket.html

 

[Cape Byron]

I think SpinLaunch has huge possibilities for off-world use. Yes, I'm aware Manley has already said that, but it's a brilliant solution to achieving launches with limited propellant manufacturing available in off-world situations.

And think of launching a lunar satellite from the moon's surface with no propellant. How cool is that?

 

[dhbarr]

Just REALLY curious how they deal with MaxQ at such a low elevation.

 

[OverTheTop]

I'm curious how they deal with balancing the rotating parts during launch .

 

[Joekeyo]

Both issued above are addressed a bit in the Manley video. There is concern about rotating parts working correctly at fully scale

 

[Antares JS]

While this would definitely have utility on the moon, I'm still skeptical about its use within an atmosphere like Earth's. We'll have to see.

 

[dhbarr]

Both issued above are addressed a bit in the Manley video. There is concern about rotating parts working correctly at fully scale

As a general rule I don't devote 15 mins of my time to entertainingly presented material which, if read, would fill a half a page. Nothing against this particular author, I just waste my time far more aggressively.

 

[MClark]

I’m sure they will make a lot of money from investors

 

[jderimig]

Another scam to get grant money from the US taxpayer.

 

[Funkworks]

Here's their channel. I love this kind of stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Gj9CZd0l5TfDJ_mKKZVpw/featured
And that thing is BIG!

It will be interesting how far they go and whether they can make the economics work.

 

[jderimig]

Here's their channel. I love this kind of stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Gj9CZd0l5TfDJ_mKKZVpw/featured
And that thing is BIG!
View attachment 495719
It will be interesting how far they go and whether they can make the economics work.

You mean for how long they can keep the grant and investor gravy train running?

 

[Funkworks]

You mean for how long they can keep the grant and investor gravy train running?

My bet is that engineers and investors have more information on the device's potential than anyone else. But hey, what would I know.

♦♣♥♠


Edit: Links to investors at the bottom of this page:
https://www.spinlaunch.com/faq#p3

 

[Donnager]

I'm curious how they deal with balancing the rotating parts during launch .

I'm curious how they deal with the sudden imbalance when the projectile is released. It seems that enough force to send something into orbit might result in some level of imbalance in the rotating hardware, when half of it is let go.

Maybe I'm just a wet blanket.

 

[OverTheTop]

I'm curious how they deal with the sudden imbalance when the projectile is released.

That was implicit in my statement too.

 

[Donnager]

That was implicit in my statement too.

I got that, and agree.

The momentary "after" is what I wanted to highlight.

If they do it, I'd love to see how.

 

[jderimig]

The concept is lunacy. Unless the concept is transferring money to the team....and "CEO".

I would give the venture kudos for naming their venture. Very clever and accurate. Lots of "spin" going on here.

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=45852.160

 

[Funkworks]

In the past, Kleiner Perkins invested in Google.

"We helped Larry, Sergey and Eric build their team with Wayne Rosing, vice president of engineering, and Jonathan Rosenberg, senior vice president of product. John also introduced resources to help Google deal with its rapid growth, such as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for establishing priorities and stretch goals, and the legendary executive coach, Bill Campbell, to develop the team's leadership skills.

Our investment in Google was one of Kleiner Perkins most significant—and not just for its impressive returns. Google has transformed lives everywhere by organizing all the world's information. John remains actively involved with the company as a board director of Alphabet, Inc."

https://www.kleinerperkins.com/case-study/google
Note: "organizing all the world's information".
Let's go back to 1985 for a while and think about that for a moment.

 

[Funkworks]

GV stands for "Google Ventures". They invested in Uber.
https://www.gv.com/portfolio/
ATW invested in fintech, energy, healthcare and other cool stuff.
https://www.atwpartners.com/portfolio-2/
Airbus Ventures I suppose is related to Airbus. Not sure which one is the right website.
https://airbusventures.vchttps://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/innovation-ecosystem/airbus-ventures
Catapult seems to be mostly into robotics and AI. Sold one to Apple.
https://catapult.vc/portfolio/
Bolt has too many to mention.
https://portfolio.bolt.io
Starlight seems to cover lots of sciency stuff. Satellogic is interesting rocketry-wise.
https://www.starlight.vc/companies.html
Lauder Partners has Space X.
https://lauderpartners.com/investments/index.html
And finally:
McKinley provides "world-class investment, research, consulting and advisory services".
https://www.mckinleycapital.com/about/
Sounds like a smart bunch.

 

[cerving]

The thing with investors and venture capital is that it's like a snowball, once you get one on board and the ball starts rolling it tends to keep building... until it explodes from it's own mass, or hits something hard. That's how Theranos got so much venture capital... they got one or two "name" investors, and others came jumping on the bandwagon "before it was too late". My thought is that this one is going to get a bunch of capital, fail, and the only ones that end up making anything on it will be the guys that started the company and sold their shares off before they became worthless. There are a lot of VC's who brag about how many companies they've started... that's not necessarily a good measure of success.

 

[neil_w]

That's how Theranos got so much venture capital... they got one or two "name" investors, and others came jumping on the bandwagon "before it was too late".

A soupçon of fraud doesn't hurt, either.

 

[OverTheTop]

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220406005185/en/SpinLaunch-and-NASA-Sign-Space-Act-Agreement-to-Test-Innovative-Mass-Accelerator-Launch-System?utm_source=pocket_mylist

 

[Peartree]

Any idea what altitude was achieved on the test in the video? Seems like I've seen L1, and certainly L2 rockets with similar footage.

 

[cerving]

Maybe a few km... sure ain't "space".

 

[boomtube-mk2]

You think that if you showed-up at a Tripoli or NAR launch with something like this that the range officer would allow you to launch a rocket out of it?

Especially if it had a "Sustainer" engine that air-started at a certian point.

 

[Antares JS]

I'm curious how they deal with the sudden imbalance when the projectile is released. It seems that enough force to send something into orbit might result in some level of imbalance in the rotating hardware, when half of it is let go.

Maybe I'm just a wet blanket.

Even more than that, I want to know how their projectile is going to handle slamming into the thick lower atmosphere at the hypersonic speeds necessary to make this work. Sure, the chamber will be evacuated as it spins up, but it's going to slam into the air after being released.

My prediction is currently still solidly on SpinLaunch going the way of Kistler and Mars One.

 

[boomtube-mk2]

My prediction is currently still solidly on SpinLaunch going the way of Kestrel and Mars One.

What way is that exactly?
I've never even heard about Kestrel or Mars On . . . Oh, that way, never mind.

 

[Antares JS]

I just double checked myself and the failed company I was thinking of was Kistler, not Kestrel. I've edited the mistake.