2 ms·

Here is Carmack's take on it: https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1458870561606615046 https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1458870561606615046 TLDR Use

• bagels 5y ago
  Yeah, that's probably the right take. They are removing a stage though, the implied third stage, but SpaceX is already doing that with better rocket engineering.
• Veedrac 5y ago
  Compare the SpinLanch rocket specs [1] to Electron in [2]. Payload: 200kg vs 300kg Height: 6m (est) vs 18m Wet mass: 11t vs 13t Stage 1 thrust: 75kN vs 230kN Stage 2 thrust: 5kN vs 26kN Engines: Pressure fed vs Electric pump fed The SpinLaunch rocket dumps its shell before turning on its engines, and presumably has much lower gravity losses, so despite shockingly similar wet masses, the rocket and its engines can be greatly downsized. I don't have any solid opinion about the concept, but it does seem like “smaller tanks” is maybe not the best description of what is a fairly significant design change. You do shed a lot of complexity from the propulsion systems, but I'm far from sure the stuff you add is any cheaper. [1] https://player.vimeo.com/video/573539093#t=26s https://player.vimeo.com/video/573539093#t=26s [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Lab_Electron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Lab_Electron