To clarify for people, this isn't NASA endorsing the idea in as much as NASA just hands out small amounts of money to different ideas in many different science or engineering related spaces.
The fact of the matter is that this concept, if it works, will only launch as much payload into orbit as an Electron rocket (a very small launch vehicle), and would require payloads specially designed for the g-forces which would make them heavier. This launch concept has exchanged fuel mass for heat shield mass to allow it to survive after it leaves the spin system.
Now, one actual use case for this type of technology is if they were to build it on the moon, especially for launching things like mined resources off the surface. The launch forces would be lower as the speed requirements are lower and it would allow launching material with little to no fuel consumption as long as there is electrical power (of which there is near infinite amounts of because of the semi-constant sunlight).
Not contesting but just adding a bit of context, NASA doesn't really just 'hand out' money for the research they conduct. There's a pretty extensive process of running panels and collecting feedback from subject matter experts to select the winning bid for most (not all, of course) of these awards/grants:
What about using it to cheaply send fuel from earth up into LEO? that is, take a fuel tank with some minimal set of RCS, compute and radio for remote control / locator beacon, and some fuel transfer / docking arrangement, and wrap it all in a disposable fairing for launch.
You'd still need to send spacecraft and larger cargo up the old fashioned way, but this would allow you to neatly work around the "your only fuel is what you carry to orbit with you" problem (as long as you carry enough fuel to rendezvous with one of the fuel pods to begin with).
> What about using it to cheaply send fuel from earth up into LEO?
Just to clarify for you here, but this can't actually launch anything directly into LEO. It needs a rocket of some sort, or something in space to "catch" it and complete the orbit. This is why what they're launching in their slingshot isn't a payload, but a small rocket with plentiful heat shielding that will contain the payload to be released. That small rocket still needs to be built every time so it doesn't actually reduce costs that much until there is something in space to "catch" the payloads. Which I am skeptical of the ability to do for Earth orbit given the much larger speed differentials of catching things in LEO.
Also on the cost thing, you have the cost issue inverted and you're trying to solve the wrong problem. The most expensive part of space travel is the whole "throwing away the vehicle after one use" aspect, not the cost of the fuel. SpinLaunch makes the vehicle itself cheaper, but it's still throwing it away.
Aye, I've been thinking these systems could be useful for hoisting dumb mass such as water in particular. Water's good for human consumption, hygiene, conversion to fuel (or ejection mass for electric motors?) and even as radiation shielding.
As here on Earth, it's probably one of the most valuable 'heavy things' we need up there. it's just bloody expensive to get up there. At least until we can start lassoing asteroids... .
This can be done with conventional rockets too, where the payload is fuel to be used by other craft.
I assume there are some reasons this isn't done, like the rocket equation persisting outside of Earth's atmosphere and gravity well, ie. you still have to accelerate the fuel mass if you intend on taking it with you, but taking it from launch obviates the needed complexity to rendezvous with an orbital gas station.
This made me wonder if it's possible to create a terrestrial spaceport which walls out the atmosphere to provide an area for low friction launches and landings. That's probably even more materially impossible than a space elevator would be, though.
A structure to "wall out" the atmosphere would be pretty heavy, and if it existed putting launcher on top would be easier.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_fountain of around 20km of height, is rather close to this idea.
Might even make sense in-orbit, for sending probes, further out, giving them initial boost. Wouldn't need to be so powerful either. Just small initial boost could do wonders.
Problem (for both lunar or in orbit idea) is getting the heavy motors off earth.
> (of which there is near infinite amounts of because of the semi-constant sunlight)
Unless you want to launch on the night side of the moon, then you have to wait up to 14 days. But yeah the moon with its lower atmosphere makes a lot of sense.
The fact of the matter is that this concept, if it works, will only launch as much payload into orbit as an Electron rocket (a very small launch vehicle), and would require payloads specially designed for the g-forces which would make them heavier. This launch concept has exchanged fuel mass for heat shield mass to allow it to survive after it leaves the spin system.
Now, one actual use case for this type of technology is if they were to build it on the moon, especially for launching things like mined resources off the surface. The launch forces would be lower as the speed requirements are lower and it would allow launching material with little to no fuel consumption as long as there is electrical power (of which there is near infinite amounts of because of the semi-constant sunlight).