I’d rather see them launch junk toward the sun with it.
SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
41–50 of 152 posts
Re: SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
#421. Build a large superconducting flywheel energy storage system like they have in Japan, right under the launch centrifuge. 2. Use it continually to arbitrage energy prices. Buy low sell high. 3. At launch time divert the rotational energy to the centrifuge. (I'd like to see that clutch.) 4. Profit
Couldn't you simply do it with a battery?
Re: SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
#43I wonder what the cost/benefit of using a centrifuge is versus a light gas gun?
Re: SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, SpinLaunch on Moon launching ore concentrates. No housing needed, g-forces irrelevant; gravity well is smaller. Obligatory link, "Moon is a Harsh Mistress", by Heinlein: https://archive.org/details/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress_201701
I came here to say exactly the same thing. Perfect for my favorite project to save the Earth - launching refined moon dust at Lagrange points.
I swear I either read a book or watched a movie in which they did exactly this.
Re: SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
#45How does this prevent the satellite from being damaged when it transitions from 5000mph in vacuum centrifuge to less-than-5000mph-in-troposphere 1 meter later just out of the door? That's gotta be one hell of a fairing.
Oh wow, I was wondering why bother building housing around it. That seems incredibly expensive to build and maintain. Your comment is very on point. If they slowly even out the atmosphere, they loose the speed. So they'll need to coordinate the door opening at exactly the right moment. And if it doesn't the whole instillation goes boom. I feel like it would be better just to use the money to buy more rocket fuel at t…
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Re: SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
#46The Wired article that this SyFy blurb is based on has more details (and more criticism) - https://www.wired.com/story/inside-spinlaunch-the-space-indu...
> One former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to their nondisparagement and nondisclosure contracts, acknowledged the gulf between theory and reality. They described SpinLaunch’s prototype centrifuge as a relatively unsophisticated machine that “any average engineering team could put together.” The employee said that scaling up to a functional suborbital launcher is going to be “very challenging” with SpinLaunch’s resources. The employee also cited the inexperience of some of the leaders. “The foresight to predict many of the issues that are going to happen was definitely lacking,” they said.
Re: SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
#47I think it would be more practical to build a helium filled temporary plastic tunnel around a rail gun over a few miles with a gradual curve up at the end so humans could use it.
Re: SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
#48Put this on the moon and we are talking. I'm not sure I see this being too useful otherwise, considering how much extra fairing mass those gforces are going to require
A smooth bore gun (like the one in tanks) with a very long barrel will work for moon projectiles as well.
Re: SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
#49> At this point the spacecraft will be subjected to a peak force 10,000 times greater than Earth's gravity, something opponents believe will seriously affect its structural integrity and the safety of its complex electronics. These kind of forces are pretty insane compared to even the high G boost you get on a normal rocket launch. I wonder if that is going to put a crimp on their potential client list.
Raw metal powder for 3D printing laser sintering. Or plastic pellets.
Water. Fuel. Clothes.
Maybe this is what can kick start the 3D printing in space revolution.
Maybe it can also launch radioactive waste into space? One bucket at a time. Then a space towtruck can be launched to hurl it into the sun.
But it’ll likely just part a naive investor from their money.
Re: SpinLaunch is building a centrifuge to launch satellites into orbit
#50I hope it works because it'd be rad, but at $500K per 200-lb payload, they'll cost $2500/lb. That's only half as much as SpaceX Rideshare for the same size payload, today. If Starship works out, then SpaceX costs will drop enormously. Fuel is a minor portion of launch cost. SpinLaunch is saving fuel but throwing away rockets; it's going to be hard to compete with someone who throws away more fuel but saves the rocket…
How is Starship going? Are they still trying to “sweat” the fuel out of the skin, to give it an active cooling layer?