On Wednesday, SpaceX launched the previously flown Falcon 9 rocket into space, carrying satellites to bring 5G Internet to the world. But what if you could do it via catapult?
Catapult? The quiet startup SpinLaunch thinks they can, and they’re aiming to raise a $30m Series A to develop the tech and prove it.
Sometimes to go forward, ya gotta go back
Catapults are some straight-up ancient Greek tech — reportedly created by Dionysius the Elder of Syracuse back in good ol’ 400 BCE to launch stones over walls and whatnot.
Now, SpinLaunch is looking to bring it back, only this time it’ll be a little more high tech, and aimed at reducing the price of a space launch to less than $500k.
According to TechCrunch, Spinlaunch wants to use a centrifuge spinning at an “incredible rate” inside a vacuum, which will harness enough energy to fling a proposed payload outta this world at speeds of 3k mph.
SpinLaunch has been pretty secretive… until now
Started in 2014 by Titan Aerospace founder Jonathan Yaney, the company has quietly raised $10m to date.
They don’t have a backer for their Series A yet, but last month, the Hawaii state Senate proposed issuing $25m in bonds to help the startup build their launch system. So, as lofty as the goal is, they’re making some progress.
