A few years ago, SpinLaunch, the company trying to fling payloads into space, was frequently in the news, completing suborbital test flights and working with big agencies like NASA. At the time, they were also adamant that they were close to announcing a location for their future orbital accelerator, the system that was supposed to actually facilitate access to space. By now, in late 2024, we've heard practically nothing to the point where it's not looking good for the company. Here, I'll go more in-depth into what we know, some of the problems they ran into, what to expect in the future, and more. [Music] To put in context the stark change and lack of updates from the company, the last time they used their suborbital accelerator and provided an update on it was flight test 10, which occurred over 2 years ago in September 2022. The suborbital accelerator is designed to operate from 800 to 5,000 mph and acts primarily as a test bed for the orbital launch system. In other words, the system

doesn't get anything to space or actually launch payloads, but instead sends them high in the air. In theory, they would need to build a much larger orbital accelerator, which would actually attempt to send payloads into orbit. On SpinLaunch's website, they say, On October 22nd, 2021, our first launch successfully propelled a test vehicle at supersonic speeds and ended with the recovery of the reusable flight vehicle. They then weirdly mention, Throughout 2022, the system will conduct regular test flights with a variety of vehicles and launch velocities. The suborbital system offers testing capabilities to customers and provides long-term value as a satellite qualification facility. They said as if it's not years later. Initially, after the 10th test flight, many were under the impression that SpinLaunch had gathered most of the data necessary from the suborbital variant and had begun to focus on creating the much larger and more powerful orbital accelerator. Supporting this around that time on their website within the frequently asked questions tab, they were quoted saying, The first orbital launch

site is in final selection in a soon-to-be-disclosed location in a coastal region of the United States. With this in mind, at the time, it simply seemed that the company was shifting its focus away from the suborbital variant to the actual hardware meant to reach space. This would explain, at least initially, the stock in suborbital testing and updates. However, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years without any updates on actual progress on either system. In terms of updates from the company, one of the few social media posts they made this year was in May when they announced a change in leadership and a new CEO. They tweeted saying, Today's spin launch enters a new chapter. We've announced a change in leadership. Former COO David Ren has been appointed CEO to execute on the company's mission and bring our innovative low-cost space solutions to market. Included was a statement that primarily used broad language to describe a shift in the company's future plan regarding the old CEO. The only comment made said spin launch's founder

and former CEO Jonathan Yany has completed his transition from the company where he recommended and endorsed Ren's elevation to CEO. They said when talking about the future plan, Ren was quoted saying, I'm energized to lead SpinLaunch into the next chapter with the company's experienced leadership and incredibly talented team. I'm confident in our ability to execute on the company's mission and bring our integrated tech stack of low-cost space solutions to market. I look forward to sharing more details about our near and long-term strategy in the coming months, he said. Since then, the only other real update we got was an announcement from the company that after 5 years at their headquarters, they moved to the nearby Airway Office Park. At the time, they said, While the team remains based in Long Beach, developing advanced space systems or launch-related technology and hardware is relocating to our world-class facilities at Spaceport America. What we do know is that SpinLaunch had quite a bit of trouble trying to find a location for the orbital.

accelerator, much less build the system. This likely combined with financial trouble and the complexity that comes with this launch system, halted the company in its tracks despite all the momentum it was gaining. One of the few pieces of evidence showcasing some of the company's problems that were public, had to do with picking a location for the orbital accelerator. Because this process involved reaching out to certain communities in the area, along with public officials, we learned quite a bit about where the company was trying to build and how it went specifically, starting all the way back in 2018. Spin launch thought they had found a good location in Hawaii. At this point, the company began looking for specific locations on the main island in other areas. Due to Hawaii's proximity to the equator, it offers a lot of benefits to companies trying to reach orbit. Around that time, Spin launch also pointed out that Hawaii was one of six states they were considering for a future location. Not long after setting their sights on Hawaii, two company representatives for

spin launch went to a scheduled meeting with the local community at the specific location of interest. The goal here was for the spin launch team to explain the system and the goal of the company, along with answering any questions the public had. Unfortunately for spin launch, the community was not a fan of the company or the idea at all. A lot of concerns were brought up, some more warranted than others. This included safety concerns, how big the accelerator would be, its impact on the environment, what happens if stored rocket fuel ignited during transport or at the station, sound, and much more. At the end of the hour-long meeting, it was clear to the company that Hawaii was going to be a tough location to get support. Eventually, spinch ultimately scrapped plans for the specific project. A few years later, in 2020, spin launch visited Alaska as a potential satellite launch site location. In this case, spinch identified a specific bay as a possible site. The spot was near the southernmost point of Alaska in a very remote location. In 2021, the recorded population

of an Alaska was just over 4,000 people. Here, the project would likely require building a road down the local Trail. A 2020 mockup from City emails shows an approximate location for the proposed spin launch satellite launch site. Here, you can see the site between the bay and City below. Representatives from the company visited on Alaska in September 2020 and gave a presentation to City officials about their plans to work with the community. A lot of local figures, including the unalaska director of Public Utilities, director of Public Works for on Alaska, and more, all thought spin launch would provide good Economic Opportunity to the region. However, it wasn't all great in terms of opinions. The ports director commented, It sounds like an Alaska may provide spin launch the ideal location, but spin launch has little or nothing long-term to offer in return. She also mentioned that she asked questions about the long-term opportunities for an Alaska, such as job opportunities, Housing Development, and an influx of students into the school. She says spin launch was unable

to provide satisfying responses, and she left the September 2020 meeting with more questions than answers. From here, it sounds like the communication between the company and the city began to erode in 2021. This leads us to the last bit of evidence that came out around the middle of 2023. At the time, reports came out that SpinLaunch was conducting a feasibility study in Western Australia. They were trying to determine if two areas of land could be used as a launch site for its orbital accelerator. SpinLaunch pointed out that they had identified a number of possible launch sites globally based on operational effectiveness, safety and compliance, and environmental impact. That being said, it seems like this location, like all the others, did not work out, as we haven't heard anything since. It's also worth noting that even if they were approved for a location, the current design for an orbital accelerator is extremely ambitious. It starts with the massive vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber is a steel cylinder measuring around 300 ft or 91 m in diameter. Within this low

press environment. It's meant to allow the teer to spend at nearly 5,000 mph with minimal aerodynamic heating and drag. Next, you have the hypersonic tether in the very center made of high-strength carbon fiber. The tether is spun up to launch speeds by a central electric drive. This electric drive consists of dual AC electric motors that feed to a hydrodynamic radial bearing assembly. The launch vehicle, which is intended to carry the payload through the atmosphere and into orbit, is attached to the very end of the tether. After the payload is spun up to immense speeds, it's time to release it on the orbital accelerator. Once launch speed is reached, an automatic sequence releases the launch vehicle through the exit tunnel with high precision. This leads to the final main component of the system, the exit tunnel. In this case, ultra-high-speed airlock doors that operate faster than the blink of an eye prevent the vacuum chamber from repressurization after the launch vehicle is released. This process is intended to help spin launch continue to launch very frequently with limited

work in between. Ideally, they could keep this chamber pressurized all day and launch every couple of hours. With the payload released, it shoots into the air at thousands of miles per hour. Not long after, his protective shell is separated, and a small rocket ignites to put the payloads into orbit. It's now been a while since we heard anything from SpinLaunch regarding the orbital or even suborbital accelerator. After a lot of complications with finding a location, among leadership changes and a lack of updates, it's not looking very good for the company. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry. Thank you very much for watching.

Is SpinLaunch Still Trying To Make An Orbital Accelerator?

Is SpinLaunch Still Trying To Make An Orbital Accelerator?