The Slingatron

Even before people started launching things into space with chemical rockets, researchers have been trying to devise other ways to place payloads into orbit. One of the most unusual concepts is being studied on behalf of NASA at the Army Research Lab by Ed Schmidt and Mark Bundy. It’s called the Slingatron and is, in effect, a giant, high tech sling shot. It was first developed by Dr. Derek Tidman, President of the Advanced Launch Corporation in 1995

A Slingatron would consist of a spiral shaped hollow tube which would launch a projectile, fed into one end, accelerating faster and faster, building up centripetal force, until it reaches orbital velocity and then is shot out the other end. It would be able to launch a thousand kilogram projectile at a velocity of about eight thousand meters per second. It would be powered by electric motors, possibly powered by a nuclear power plant. It would act much like David’s sling

There are engineering issues remaining to be resolved before construction of a Slingatron can be contemplated. These include the structural integrity of the system, friction in the interior of the spiral tube, and with what to power the acceleration of the payload. Fabrication cost of such a system would be high, according to Schmidt and Bundy.

Still, a Slingatron could be part of the solution to the problem of cheap access to space. Currently it costs between about three thousand and ten thousand dollars a pound to launch something into orbit around the Earth. A Slingathon, were it to work as advertised, could bring that cost down to hundreds of dollars a pound. In a way, David’s sling would have nothing compared to this giant slingshot.

NASA or a private company could use a Slingathon to launch supplies to a space station or a future lunar or Mars space craft. Because of the high acceleration of a Slingathon, astronauts would have to find another way to get into space, either on board an old fashioned rocket or by some other means like a space elevator or laser launch system.

The military is also looking at the Slingatron concept as a means to launch projectiles at targets over intercontinental ranges. Hundreds or even thousands of small projectiles per minute could be used to bombard a target a world a way. The Slingatron could also be used as an anti satellite weapon.

Will a Slingathon ever be built? That would depend on a lot of things, including the need to launch many small payloads into space cheaply and how much such a device would cost. If NASA and the military passes on the concept, the Slingatron might wind up eventually being built by a private entity. So far most private space ventures consists of attempts to build cheaper and more reliable rockets. But if the space launch market demands it, a Slingatron might well become a commercial reality.