Space startup SpinLaunch broke ground on a $7 million test facility to be built roughly seven miles south of Spaceport America.
SpinLaunch aims to use kinetic energy to launch satellites as small as microwave ovens into space at hypersonic speeds without using rocket fuel. The company will power the all-electric launch system using renewable energy.
Founder and CEO Jonathan Yaney said the first phase of development will test the company’s core technology. From there, Yaney said he plans to expand.
“You know we’re very much here to stay," Yaney said. "While this is a development step for us, this is a phase one so that we can develop our core technology, the system that we’ll be developing here will be used in the foreseeable future. We expect to be here for a decade or more... doing testing and development of even future phases and future elements of our technology.”
Spaceport officials said SpinLaunch will add 20 jobs at the site. Yaney said he plans to begin preliminary flight-testing next spring.
