A US startup called SpinLaunch plans to shoot hundreds of flat satellites into space using a giant spinning cannon. If successful, this new system could change how satellites are launched forever.
The company uses a centrifugal launcher a huge machine that spins rockets in a vacuum chamber and fires them into the sky at super high speed. The goal is send satellites to orbit without full blown rocket launches.
The satellites look like flat disks, each about 7.5 feet wide and weighing just 70 kg. They’re stacked like a pile of pancakes inside a “launch bus” and shot into space together. The first batch of 250 satellites could fly by 2026.
If the mission succeeds, SpinLaunch could break the record for the most satellites launched at once. The current record is 143 satellites by SpaceX in 2021.
This new method is cheaper and cleaner. No fuel burning rockets No discarded boosters Less space junk Lower launch costs than traditional methods It could make space launches more sustainable and frequent.
SpinLaunch plans to launch 1,200 satellites in total. Later, they want to build a larger accelerator that could launch up to five payloads a day for other companies no rocket engines needed.
Firing more satellites into orbit could create more light pollution, space traffic, and radio signal interference. Experts warn it could impact astronomy and increase collision risks in low Earth orbit.