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

Launching spacecraft requires huge amounts of fuel just to escape Earth’s gravity, with the propellants alone representing as much as 90% of a rocket’s weight—making flights expensive, risky and a carbon nightmare. But what if you could simply throw an object into space? That’s broadly the approach taken by SpinLaunch Inc.

As its name suggests, the California startup largely eschews fuels such as refined kerosene or liquid oxygen. Instead, it aims to use what might be described as a giant salad spinner to hurl objects skyward. A dart-shaped space vehicle sits inside a vacuum chamber at the end of an arm that rotates at dizzying speeds. When the missile reaches the desired velocity—up to 5,000 miles per hour—it’s released through a chimney-like exit port running vertically along the rim of the chamber.