Why Launch Rockets When You Can Just Fling Them Into Space?

California-based startup SpinLaunch tests giant salad spinner to fling objects into space, aiming to reduce the need for traditional rocket fuels and cut costs.

May 8, 2023 . 11:51 PM

1 min read

California startup SpinLaunch aims to fling objects into space using a giant salad spinner instead of traditional rocket fuels.
The company completed its first test flight in October 2021 and has had nine more “suborbital” launches since.
SpinLaunch has raised $71 million from backers including ATW Partners, Alphabet Inc.’s GV and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
The company plans to launch a larger device in 2026 that will fling objects 40 miles or more into the upper atmosphere.
SpinLaunch says it will be able to put a satellite into low-Earth orbit for about $250,000—roughly one-fifth the cost of today’s systems.