Have You Seen This? Camera gets launched at 1K mph

Spectators watch as a camera is launched into the air by SpinLaunch on April 22.

Spectators watch as a camera is launched into the air by SpinLaunch on April 22. (SpinLaunch via YouTube)


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THE FUTURE — Have you ever wondered what it would look like to travel 25,000 feet in 82 seconds? If so, SpinLaunch has just the video for you.

NASA has partnered with the folks from SpinLaunch to find a cheaper solution to get satellites and other objects into orbit. Rather than launching the usual way with rockets, SpinLaunch lives up to its name by spinning things really, really fast and then releasing them upward. Think of it as a much larger version of the sling that David used to kill Goliath.

There are additional benefits of this new method. For starters, there is a much lower chance of explosions, thanks to the absence of onboard fuel. And, these electric-powered launchers produce significantly less pollution.

SpinLaunch uses their A-33 Suborbital Mass Accelerator to achieve the extreme speeds necessary for launch. The test featured in this video involved a 10-foot-long projectile that was equipped with a camera. Thanks to special fins on the projectile, it spins through the air much like a bullet fired from a gun.

The footage captured is pretty amazing, but for NASA, the important thing is that the camera clearly survived the launch. This gives credibility to the idea that SpinLaunch could one day be used to throw NASA's delicate technology into orbit without inflicting damage.

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Grant Olsen joined the KSL.com contributor team in 2012. He covers outdoor adventures, travel, product reviews and other interesting things. He is also the author of the book “Rhino Trouble.”

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