Key facts
- Longshot Space Technology is developing a space launch system using a large gun.
- The startup has raised about $20 million from venture investors.
- Longshot is testing a 70-foot gun and plans to build a 3,000-foot version.
- The company aims to launch payloads at speeds up to Mach 8 for testing.
- The ultimate goal is to accelerate payloads to 5 kilometers per second for space orbit.
- Longshot projects launch costs as low as $50 per kilogram.
Longshot Space Technology is developing an unconventional method for launching cargo into space: using a large, ground-based gun. The startup, founded by CEO Mike Grace and CTO Nato Saichek, aims to leverage existing technologies, such as those used in World War II and 1960s research programs, to create a reusable accelerator on the ground. This system would collapse the function of a rocket's first stage into a terrestrial device.
The proposed system involves a long steel pipe, mounted horizontally, with tanks of high-pressure gas. As a projectile travels down the barrel, these tanks fire sequentially to accelerate it. Currently, Longshot is testing a 70-foot gun with a 6-inch diameter, capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 4. Future plans include a 140-foot gun with a 30-inch diameter, and eventually a 3,000-foot-long gun designed to launch 220-pound payloads to Mach 8.
Grace envisions these guns being integrated into US military installations for purposes like testing interceptors and practicing against hypersonic missiles, offering a cheaper alternative to current methods. The company has secured several contracts from the US military for hypersonic testing services.
The ultimate goal for Longshot is to achieve speeds of 5 kilometers per second (over 11,000 mph), sufficient for orbital insertion if the payload has its own propulsion. This would require a significantly larger gun, approximately 10 kilometers long and 10 feet in diameter. The company acknowledges that finding suitable locations for such large-scale infrastructure is a primary challenge.
If successful, Longshot projects extremely low launch costs, potentially as low as $50 per kilogram, which would be highly competitive for industries like orbital data centers that require costs around $300 per kilogram.