It’s been a while since we last heard from SpinLaunch regarding an orbital accelerator or even the company’s suborbital variant in New Mexico. The end goal is to operate the world’s first kinetic launch system capable of launching tens of payloads per day. However, this goal is much easier said than done and SpinLaunch still has a lot of work left.
The most recent test flight was the 10th and happened in September of last year. This test in particular was considered a big deal since multiple test payloads were on board including one from NASA. All this being said, the only information we have been receiving from the company since has been related to its space systems, a slight shift in the company’s focus.
In addition, new reports highlight the plan for continued testing and a possible date for a fully working orbital accelerator. This brings up the question of what is SpinLaunch planning and how do these space systems complement the future design and goal. Here I will go more in-depth into the other sector within the SpinLaunch business, the orbital accelerator, what to expect in the coming months, and more.
SpinLaunch Progress
As partially mentioned prior, we have heard very little from SpinLaunch since the company’s most recent test flight around 6 months ago. Earlier last year, SpinLaunch signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA to develop, integrate and fly a NASA payload, providing the agency with the information necessary to determine the potential of future commercial launch opportunities with the company. On the recent flight, four partner payloads, as well as two instrumentation payloads, were flown on the Suborbital Accelerator Flight Test Vehicle. In NASA’s case, after the completion of Flight Test 10, the Data Acquisition Unit on board the payload was successfully recovered and removed from the Flight Test Vehicle. They said that SpinLaunch test engineers retrieved the data and reviewed it with NASA personnel from their Flight Opportunities program, who were onsite to observe the Flight Test in person. Unfortunately, this was all the information we received and none of the actual flight data was revealed.
The only other recent report on Spinlaunch came earlier this month. Here it was reported that SpinLaunch is planning to run more demonstration flights with A-33 otherwise known as the New Mexico test facility, followed by the construction of a full-scale orbital mass accelerator. Its important to point out that the rate of these tests has slowed down since the 10th flight with the previous attempts happening much sooner after the previous. They also pointed out that the team is hoping to perform its first orbital launch, and potentially start building satellite constellations, in 2026.
Besides that general date, the main piece of information from the company is on their Website where they state, “The first Orbital Launch Site is in final selection in a soon-to-be-disclosed location in a coastal region of the United States. We are closely collaborating with the FAA and other governing agencies for launch site licensing.” In this case, this specific message has been here for many months which takes away from the “soon-to-be-disclosed statement. Either way this process is turning out to be much harder than the company had hoped for. Starting back in 2018, SpinLaunch thought they had found a good location in Hawaii. At this point, the company began looking for specific locations on the main island and other areas. Due to Hawaii’s proximity to the equator, it offers a lot of benefits to companies trying to reach orbit. SpinLaunch also pointed out that Hawaii is one of 6 states they are considering for a future location.
Not long after showing interest, two company representatives for SpinLaunch went to a scheduled meeting with the local community of the specific location of interest. The goal here was for the SpinLaunch team to explain the system, and the goal of the company, along with answering any questions the public had. Unfortunately for SpinLaunch, this community meeting was far less productive than expected and was primarily people yelling and interrupting each other. A lot of concerns were brought up some more warranted than others. This included safety concerns, how big the accelerator would be, its impact on the environment, what happens if stored rocket fuel ignited during transport or at the station, sound, and much more. By the end of the hour long meeting, it was clear to the company that Hawaii was going to be a tough location to get support, and this specific location was not at all an option going forward. Not long after, SpinLaunch ultimately scrapped plans for this specific project.
Space Systems
Besides work on the actual launch system, we have also seen more focus on space systems. On their website, they say, “In addition to SpinLaunch’s ground-based, electric-powered mass accelerator launch system, we’re developing a complimentary line of satellite buses designed to be compatible with any launch system without compromising cost, performance, or mass.”
SpinLaunch has developed a line of satellite buses in the 20kg to 200kg size class to try and meed different customers’ LEO constellation needs. They point out that they have applied the same know-how and guiding principles from their mass accelerator to satellite buses, designing them for high cadence and low cost. Through a combination of modular design, using digital technologies, and designing for mass production, their satellite buses require significantly less labor to build, delivering exceptional value to their customers. Designed to be compatible with traditional rockets, their satellite buses are ideally suited for constellation customers looking to deploy services from LEO.
Taking a closer look at what SpinLaunch is working on reveals the extensive amount of space systems they are hoping to offer. The list includes hall thrusters, star trackers, power supply units, solar panels, and more for a total of 7 systems not including the satellite bus.
During early feasibility analysis of SpinLaunch’s global architecture, one area of primary interest was g-hardening. As such, an in-depth evaluation into existing industry examples of high-g capable sensors and systems was undertaken. Early research identified promising examples of complex high-g systems in industry including artillery launched drones with deployable wings, propulsion, and optics. Following the completion of the 12 m prototype, a system capable of testing to over 20,000G’s, SpinLaunch’s engineering team began evaluating a variety of hardware packages at the 10,000G that components endure during the launch. Through this testing, they have been able to demonstrate the impressive ability of satellite systems to readily handle the centripetal environment. The various systems they are working on are meant to fit right in with future launch opportunities.
SpinLaunch highlights that with industry plans to launch ten times the number of satellites over the next decade, it is more urgent than ever to develop environmentally sustainable space access technology. Because kinetically launched satellites exit the stratosphere without a rocket, SpinLaunch enables a future in which constellations of satellites and space payloads can be launched with zero emissions in the most critical layers of the atmosphere. In a future where large numbers of people are traveling to space — structures, equipment, and supplies required to support in-space civilization must also be launched. For tens of thousands of people to someday work and live in space, millions of tons of infrastructure and supplies must be launched.
They stress that modern carbon fiber and miniature electronics are the most relevant reasons why SpinLaunch has not been possible until recently. Carbon Fiber emerged as a high-strength composite in the early 1960s and only recently transitioned from limited aerospace applications to widespread industrial usage. Low-cost high strength to weight materials like modern carbon fiber is a critical part of what makes SpinLaunch possible while modern electronics, materials, and simulation tools allow for satellites to be adapted to the kinetic launch environment with relative ease. Back in the 1960s, the High Altitude Research Project demonstrated that large complex launch vehicles could traverse from vacuum to atmosphere at speeds of Mach 6. While the vehicle isn’t damaged by entering the atmosphere, they have designed it to survive the temporary high temperatures generated as it exits the atmosphere. The tip of the launch vehicle acts as a heat sink, absorbing any aerothermal loads experienced during flight. The heating load is less than that of other industry examples of high-speed flight.
SpinLaunch’s design is meant to fling a small rocket into the upper parts of the atmosphere before its protective shell is discarded and it ignites. From here the payloads would be deployed into their designated orbit and location. While initial suborbital test flights have shown promising results, the step up to orbital attempts involves completely new technology and much greater forces. All of which SpinLaunch will need to figure out if they want this to be a success.
Conclusion
SpinLaunch is working on both an orbital accelerator and different space systems. Together, they want to offer a complete system to get unique payloads into space. In the near future, we can hope to receive more updates and learn where the first orbital accelerator will be located. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.