SpinLaunch Test Delivers 2% of Orbital Energy as Projectile Tumbles

Thunderf00t

Atmospheric compression heating, chronic vacuum leakage, and erratic release mechanics make SpinLaunch's hypersonic kinetic launcher physically unworkable.

AI-assisted summary of Spinlaunch: BUSTED! — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2021-11-17

Key ideas

SpinLaunch claims its giant centrifuge will slingshot payloads to orbit at Mach 7 (2,000 m/s), but its publicized test delivered only about 2% of the kinetic energy required for the promised orbital launch velocity. (13:28)
Detailed frame-by-frame analysis reveals the test projectile exited the chimney nearly 30 degrees off-axis, tumbling violently broadside into the airflow and almost impacting the launch tube walls. (8:12)
The facility's large vacuum chamber shows visible dirt contamination and unsealed drive bearing feed-throughs, which make sustaining the hard vacuum required to prevent catastrophic hypersonic frictional heating virtually impossible. (3:24)
SpinLaunch founder Jonathan Yaney lacks formal aerospace or vacuum engineering credentials, drawing critical comparisons to high-profile venture-backed failures like Theranos. (14:35)

Detailed notes

## Background Published on YouTube on November 17, 2021, by the channel Thunderf00t, this video critically examines the promotional claims made by space-startup venture SpinLaunch. The video's description directs viewers to support the creator via Patreon, his Amazon affiliate storefront, and his secondary YouTube channel.

## TL;DR Thunderf00t dismantles SpinLaunch's promotional debut, revealing that their highly publicized test imparted only about two percent of the kinetic energy required for orbital launch. Through frame-by-frame video analysis, he illustrates that the projectile exited the launch chimney off-axis and tumbled erratically, achieving performance easily outclassed by century-old naval artillery. He outlines fatal technical hurdles, including severe compressional heating at hypersonic speeds, leaky mechanical bearing feed-throughs that compromise high-vacuum requirements, and extreme kinetic shrapnel risks. Comparing the startup's venture-backed narrative to Theranos and the Hyperloop, he concludes that the project relies on theatrical marketing rather than viable aerospace engineering.

## Atmosphere & style The presentation carries a biting, sardonic tone that blends rigorous forensic engineering critique with cutting humor aimed at Silicon Valley tech hype. Thunderf00t delivers his arguments with palpable incredulity and technical sharpness, pairing slow-motion frame overlays with blunt comparisons to artillery and catastrophic industrial failures. Watching it feels like a methodical debunking that strips away slick corporate public relations to expose glaring physical flaws and basic mechanical oversights.

## Bulletin - [13:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=808s) SpinLaunch claims its giant centrifuge will slingshot payloads to orbit at Mach 7 (2,000 m/s), but its publicized test delivered only about 2% of the kinetic energy required for the promised orbital launch velocity. - [08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) Detailed frame-by-frame analysis reveals the test projectile exited the chimney nearly 30 degrees off-axis, tumbling violently broadside into the airflow and almost impacting the launch tube walls. - [03:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=204s) The facility's large vacuum chamber shows visible dirt contamination and unsealed drive bearing feed-throughs, which make sustaining the hard vacuum required to prevent catastrophic hypersonic frictional heating virtually impossible. - [14:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=875s) SpinLaunch founder Jonathan Yaney lacks formal aerospace or vacuum engineering credentials, drawing critical comparisons to high-profile venture-backed failures like Theranos.

## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=0s) SpinLaunch utilizes dramatic countdowns, emotional rhetoric, and CGI animations reminiscent of Hyperloop promotional campaigns rather than presenting rigorous technical data. - [03:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=204s) Centrifuge arms accelerating projectiles to Mach 7 accumulate roughly 50 times the kinetic energy of an object at Mach 1, requiring an immaculate high vacuum to avoid burning up. - [03:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=204s) Visible dust and debris inside the vacuum chamber indicate compromised vacuum engineering standards that undermine the system's operational viability. - [06:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=367s) At sea level, compressional aerodynamic heating at hypersonic speeds would instantly melt the rotating arm, making an ultra-pure vacuum mandatory. - [08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) Spinning at roughly two revolutions per second requires sub-millisecond release timing to keep the projectile within a one-degree exit window. - [08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) Public test footage obscures instrument readings and vacuum gauges while showing only seven seconds of total launch action. - [08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) Slow-motion video shows the projectile yawing roughly 30 degrees upon exit and tumbling nearly broadside to the airflow before stabilizing. - [11:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=714s) Aerodynamic forces acting on the tumbling projectile caused it to violently hook to one side, narrowly missing the launch chimney structure. - [08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) The test projectile's speed fell far short of Mach 7, achieving performance inferior to century-old naval battleship artillery. - [13:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=808s) Exposing the centrifuge's drive shaft bearings to ambient air creates unavoidable leak paths that severely degrade the vacuum chamber. - [13:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=808s) Rupturing the chamber's seal upon firing vents the cavernous structure to atmospheric pressure, requiring hours of pumping between launches and disproving rapid-turnaround claims. - [14:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=875s) Founder Jonathan Yaney's lack of formal technical training in orbital mechanics or vacuum engineering mirrors problematic Silicon Valley disruption narratives. - [16:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=965s) A structural or tether failure at full speed would release Mach 7 kinetic shrapnel equivalent to railgun projectiles, threatening the poorly shielded control room located adjacent to the centrifuge.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=0s) Hype, Countdowns, and Echoes of the Hyperloop

Thunderf00t introduces SpinLaunch, a venture that has generated significant attention by promising to revolutionize access to space. The company is constructing a massive centrifuge designed to spin a tethered rocket using an electric motor for an hour, accelerating it past 5,000 miles per hour before releasing it through a 35-degree launch chimney toward orbit. He plays a clip from their recent demonstration, complete with cheering employees and falling confetti, but questions whether this celebration represents a genuine scientific breakthrough or PR fluff.

He compares SpinLaunch’s promotional approach directly to past Hyperloop promotional videos, pointing out how both rely on theatrical tropes like dramatic countdowns to associate themselves with historic space milestones such as the Apollo 11 Saturn V launch. These presentations pair dramatic countdowns with vague, emotionally charged platitudes about human exploration, bold leaps forward, and unlocking limitless space resources. Thunderf00t is skeptical of projects that revive centuries-old concepts that never left the drawing board for sound engineering reasons, asking whether this test was truly a monumental achievement worthy of “a slow motion resting orgasm face” or an underwhelming demonstration that could easily be outdone by an old artillery piece.

[03:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=204s) Vacuum System Realities and Desert Dust

Thunderf00t acknowledges the feat of building an expensive, record-setting wide-span vacuum chamber out in the desert, but he immediately highlights serious technical warning signs. A fundamental principle of high-vacuum engineering is that interior metal surfaces must be exceptionally clean. Drawing a parallel to the early Virgin Hyperloop test track, which he noticed was visibly coated in rust on the inside despite grand claims of high-speed passenger travel, he points out that SpinLaunch’s vacuum chamber is visibly contaminated with dirt and dust.

This lack of cleanliness is alarming because vacuum quality is critical to SpinLaunch's operational physics. While rotary systems are effective at transferring kinetic energy over time—a concept familiar to fans of combat robotics like *Robot Wars* or *BattleBots*, where spinning weapons accumulate far more energy than quick-striking axes—SpinLaunch aims to spin tethered projectiles up to 2,000 meters per second. With the speed of sound at roughly 300 meters per second, reaching orbital launch speeds requires moving at Mach 7, which represents approximately 50 times the kinetic energy of an object traveling at the speed of sound.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: SpinLaunch Vacuum and Aerodynamic Challenge accDescr: Diagram illustrating the contrast between the vacuum requirement and atmospheric drag constraints at hypersonic speeds.

subgraph Chamber["Vacuum Centrifuge Chamber"] A["Spinning Tethered Arm"] -->|"1 hour acceleration"| B["Mach 7 Tip Speed (2,000 m/s)"] B --> C{"High Vacuum Required"} C -->|"Contamination / Leakage"| D["Extreme Friction & Melting"] end

subgraph Atmosphere["Atmospheric Flight"] E["Chimney Exit"] --> F["Mach 7 Shockwave"] F --> G["Compressional Heating (Over 1,000°C)"] G --> H["Massive Drag & Structural Stress"] end

B -->|"Release Mechanism"| E ```

- Target projectile tip velocity: approximately 2,000 m/s (~Mach 7, over 5,000 mph). - Speed of sound baseline: ~300 m/s. - Energy scaling: Mach 7 corresponds to ~50 times the kinetic energy of an object at Mach 1. - Contamination issue: Accumulations of visible dust and grit compromise the high-vacuum seals and pumping requirements.

[06:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=367s) The Hypersonic Heating Dilemma

Accelerating an object to supersonic or hypersonic velocities within thick air at sea level is physically unfeasible. Thunderf00t explains that at 1 atmosphere of pressure, even high-performance jet aircraft barely exceed the speed of sound, with sea-level records sitting around 1,000 mph. By contrast, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird achieved Mach 3 only by cruising at an altitude of 25 kilometers (nearly a quarter of the way to space), where atmospheric density drops to roughly 0.05 atmospheres. Even in that thin air, atmospheric compression heated the Blackbird’s windscreen above 300 degrees Celsius.

This problem intensifies at hypersonic speeds because air molecules only move at approximately the speed of sound. When a vehicle moves significantly faster, it acts as a compressional heater, ramming into air molecules faster than they can get out of the way. For example, during orbital reentry at Mach 20, the effective compression ratio reaches 20 to 1, producing external temperatures of around 1,000 degrees Celsius where heat can only be radiated away into the surrounding near-vacuum. Consequently, running a centrifuge arm at Mach 7 inside an atmosphere would rapidly melt the structure, making an immaculate vacuum chamber an absolute necessity rather than an optional feature.

- Sea-level atmospheric speed limit for jet aircraft: roughly Mach 1 (~1,000 mph). - SR-71 Blackbird operating altitude: 25 km at ~0.05 atm to reach Mach 3. - SR-71 cockpit windscreen temperature: over 300°C. - Reentry compression physics: Mach 20 produces an effective 20:1 compression ratio, driving skin temperatures to ~1,000°C.

[08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) Analyzing the Launch Footage: Misalignment and Tumbling

Thunderf00t observes that the actual test velocity shown in the video was nowhere near Mach 7; it was barely supersonic, if that, falling far short of a standard naval battleship gun that easily fires shells at over Mach 2. Furthermore, battleship shells travel where the barrel is aimed, whereas SpinLaunch's test projectile exhibited erratic trajectory and stability problems. At roughly 2 revolutions per second (amounting to 700 to 1,000 degrees per second of angular rotation), hitting an exit trajectory window within a single degree requires a release timing accuracy of roughly one millisecond.

Examining the seven seconds of release video released by the company, Thunderf00t highlights that parts of the control screens—including the vacuum gauge scale—are intentionally blurred out. Looking closely at the slow-motion footage of the projectile clearing the exit membrane, he points out that the vehicle does not emerge straight. The nose of the dart exits at one position, while the tail exits substantially off-axis at an angle of roughly 30 degrees. Once airborne, frame-by-frame inspection shows the missile tumbling wildly—rotating nearly 90 degrees broadside into the airflow before its fins catch the air, veering sideways, and eventually stabilizing. As Thunderf00t emphasizes regarding the erratic exit:

> “Basically their release mechanism is screwed up or something which is not entirely unsurprising.”

- Centrifuge rotation rate: approximately 2 revolutions per second (~700° to 1,000°/s). - Timing precision required: within ~1 millisecond to maintain a release trajectory within 1 degree. - Video anomalies: blurred instrument panels, obscured vacuum level readouts, and only 7 seconds of footage. - Projectile flight behavior: exits chimney with an approximate 30° yaw twist and visibly tumbles across multiple frames before stabilizing.

[11:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=714s) Trajectory Analysis: Tumbling Projectiles and Atmospheric Impact

Analyzing the slow-motion launch footage frame-by-frame reveals a chaotic flight path rather than a controlled, stable ascent. By overlapping sequential video frames and tracking the center of gravity of the projectile, Thunderf00t illustrates that the missile is pitching violently sideways—at times oriented nearly perpendicular (90 degrees) to its line of travel—while spinning erratically as it leaves the muzzle. The promotional video noticeably avoids showing a continuous, wide-angle shot of the projectile climbing smoothly into the upper atmosphere, cutting away instead to distant, ambiguous perspectives.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Launch Trajectory Deviation accDescr: Diagram illustrating the projectile leaving the launch tube at an angle, tumbling, and aerodynamic forces altering its trajectory. subgraph Tube["Launch Chamber"] A["Spinning Centrifuge Release"] --> B["Exit Through Muzzle"] end subgraph Flight["Atmospheric Flight"] B --> C["Off-Axis Exit & Violent Tumble"] C --> D["Atmospheric Drag Hits Projectile"] D --> E["Flight Path Hooks Sideways"] end ```

By tracing a line parallel to the exit tube and projecting it outward to the missile's position in the sky, it becomes evident that the projectile emerged at an awkward angle, missing the tube wall by a razor-thin margin. The moment it hits the dense ambient air outside the vacuum seal, severe aerodynamic forces slam into the tumbling body, causing it to hook hard to one side before the stabilizing fins can exert any meaningful aerodynamic control. Rather than an orderly test of a guided space vehicle, the unedited trajectory demonstrates an unguided, tumbling shell that came dangerously close to destroying the launch tube itself. As Thunderf00t summarizes:

> “Put simply there really isn't a lot here beyond blurred screens and a released projectile that came very close to destroying their kit.”

[13:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=808s) Vacuum Chamber Failures and the Two Percent Energy Reality

Despite media headlines proclaiming a revolutionary breakthrough poised to upend satellite launches, the test facility failed to demonstrate any of the critical engineering milestones required for orbital or suborbital capability. The kinetic energy imparted to the test projectile represented roughly two percent of the total energy needed to reach SpinLaunch’s promised velocity of 5,000 miles per hour. Achieving orbital launch speeds requires extreme kinetic forces that scale exponentially with velocity, a hurdle the low-speed prototype does not begin to address.

The most glaring flaw in the centrifuge's physical design is its inability to maintain the deep vacuum necessary to spin a massive arm at hypersonic speeds without vaporizing from air resistance. The central drive bearings of the centrifuge are exposed rather than enclosed within an internal vacuum shroud. In industrial vacuum engineering, running large, high-load rotating shafts through atmospheric boundaries is notoriously unreliable because atmospheric gas constantly leaks past the seals. Drawing parallels to the engineering realities of the Hyperloop, even a microscopic pinhole leak will immediately ruin an ultra-high vacuum environment. Because a launch cycle violently vents the entire cavernous chamber to the atmosphere every time the diaphragm ruptures, re-evacuating the facility down to hard vacuum would take hours, completely invalidating company claims of launching constellations of satellites within days.

> “There are no serious vacuum systems in the world that have large bearing feed-throughs like this because it's virtually impossible to stop gas bleeding through the bearings and you'll recall from my hyperloop videos of just how small a pinhole you need to actually completely trash a good vacuum system.”

- Delivered kinetic energy: approximately 2% of the required target energy for orbital insertion. - Bearing design: non-enclosed external bearing feed-throughs prone to severe atmospheric leakage. - Cycle turnaround: venting the massive chamber to ambient air requires hours of continuous vacuum pumping between consecutive shots.

[14:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=875s) Founder Credentials and the Theranos Comparison

Thunderf00t shifts focus to the corporate narrative and qualifications driving SpinLaunch, scrutinizing founder Jonathan Yaney. While promoted as a visionary serial entrepreneur preparing to launch dozens of satellites per week, Yaney's professional track record shows virtually no formal background in aerospace engineering, orbital mechanics, or high-vacuum structural design. Instead, his stated credentials rest on logging roughly a thousand hours as an airplane pilot.

The notion that an untrained pilot sitting in a cockpit could spontaneously invent a physics-defying alternative to conventional rocketry draws a sharp historical comparison to Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. Promoters and venture capitalists readily buy into seductive disruption narratives, ignoring that fundamental laws of physics cannot be bypassed by enthusiasm alone. Thunderf00t delivers a biting critique of this Silicon Valley trope:

> “And it's not impossible that a 19 year old with no experience could invent a machine that would revolutionize blood testing, but I wouldn't bet on it.”

[16:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=965s) Catastrophic Kinetic Hazards and the Vaporware Verdict

The sheer amount of rotational kinetic energy stored in a full-scale orbital centrifuge creates immense destructive potential in the event of an anomaly. To illustrate what happens when high-speed rotating structures experience structural failure, Thunderf00t shows footage of a large wind turbine rotor tearing itself apart at a tiny fraction of the speed planned for SpinLaunch. If the tether, arm, or projectile suffered a structural failure while spun up to orbital launch velocities, the resulting fragmentation would blast shrapnel outward at Mach 7—velocities equivalent to high-caliber military railgun projectiles.

```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: Structural Failure Consequence Flow accDescr: Flow diagram showing how structural failure at hypersonic spin creates railgun-speed shrapnel, endangering the adjacent control room. A["Centrifuge at Hypersonic RPM"] --> B["Structural / Latch Failure"] B --> C["Mach 7 Kinetic Shrapnel"] C --> D["Destruction of Outer Shell"] D --> E["Adjacent Control Bunker in Blast Arc"] ```

Ordinarily, an experimental testing facility dealing with explosive kinetic energies would enforce massive safety perimeters and operate from reinforced, distant bunkers. Instead, SpinLaunch placed its primary control room directly adjacent to the centrifuge ring, separated by ordinary walls right inside the line of fire.

Summing up the venture's public debut, Thunderf00t highlights the standard playbook of overhyped tech startups: lavish computer-generated animations of how the system will theoretically look in space, a mere seven seconds of heavily edited footage showing an underperforming prototype, followed by twenty seconds of celebratory employee reaction shots. When evaluated against historical engineering, the physical projectile launch was thoroughly outclassed in range, speed, and accuracy by artillery developed for century-old naval battleships.

> “Seven seconds of a prototype of some sort working followed by 20 seconds of reaction shots and an actual achievement that could be outclassed in every significant sense by a 100 year old battleship how would that score in the game of vaporware unicorns over promise and under deliver? That's a bingo.”

## Mentioned Thunderf00t, SpinLaunch, Hyperloop, Virgin Hyperloop, Apollo 11, Saturn V, Robot Wars, BattleBots, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, Jonathan Yaney, Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos

## Video description You can support this channel directly through patreon: https://patreon.com/Thunderf00t

or at my amazon affiliate store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/thunderf00t

or my other channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUrdmVprSahXaPKqr04VfgQ

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE)

中文简报

SpinLaunch测试发射体翻滚，仅达成2%轨道动能大气压缩加热、长期真空泄漏和不稳定的释放机构，使SpinLaunch的高超音速动能发射器在物理上无法运作。 Thunderf00t剖析了SpinLaunch的宣传首秀，透露其广受关注的测试仅提供了入轨发射所需动能的约2%。通过逐帧视频分析，他指出发射体偏离轴心冲出发射管并剧烈翻滚，其实际性能被一个世纪前的舰炮轻易超越。他还指出了数项致命的技术瓶颈，包括高超音速下的严重压缩加热、破坏高真空要求的传动轴承贯穿件泄漏，以及极端的动能破片风险。在将这家初创公司的风投资本叙事与Theranos和Hyperloop进行对比后，他总结认为该项目依赖的是戏剧性的公关营销，而非切实可行的航天工程。 SpinLaunch宣称其巨型离心机能以7马赫（2000米/秒）的速度将载荷甩入轨道，但其公布的测试仅提供了所承诺轨道发射速度所需动能的约2%。 (13:28) 详细的逐帧分析显示，测试发射体以接近30度的偏角冲出发射管，横向剧烈翻滚撞入气流，且险些撞击发射管壁。 (8:12) 该设施的大型真空室存在肉眼可见的污垢污染和未密封的驱动轴承贯穿件，这使得维持防止灾难性高超音速摩擦加热所需的高真空几乎无法实现。 (3:24) SpinLaunch创始人Jonathan Yaney缺乏航天或真空工程方面的正规资质，引发了人们将其与Theranos等备受瞩目的风投失败案例的批判性对比。 (14:35)

Reading summary

Thunderf00t argues that SpinLaunch's centrifuge-based space launch system is fundamentally flawed and sustained largely by promotional hype, asserting that its physical demonstration delivered only a tiny fraction of the required orbital energy while revealing dangerous mechanical, aerodynamic, and vacuum engineering failures. Promotional Theatrics and Minimal Energy Delivery (0:00) Thunderf00t contends that SpinLaunch relies on public relations tropes reminiscent of the Hyperloop, employing dramatic countdowns, obscured instrument readouts, and celebratory employee reaction shots to mask an underwhelming test. Despite company claims of revolutionizing space access, the projectile in the demonstration reached barely supersonic speeds, falling far short of a standard naval battleship cannon that fires shells at over Mach 2. Furthermore, the test imparted approximately two percent of the kinetic energy required to achieve the company's promised launch velocity of 5,000 miles per hour (Mach 7). Vacuum Integrity and Hypersonic Heating Barriers (3:24) Accelerating a projectile to Mach 7 (roughly 2,000 meters per second) inside an atmosphere is physically impossible due to compressional heating and drag. Thunderf00t notes that even the SR-71 Blackbird, flying at Mach 3 in thin air at 25 kilometers altitude, experienced windscreen temperatures exceeding 300 degrees Celsius, while orbital reentry compression at Mach 20 produces temperatures around 1,000 degrees Celsius. Operating a centrifuge at Mach 7 at sea level without melting requires an immaculate, high-grade vacuum chamber. However, SpinLaunch's desert chamber exhibited visible contamination from dust and grit, which degrades vacuum seals. In addition, the centrifuge utilizes exposed, non-enclosed rotating drive bearings that inevitably bleed atmospheric gas into the chamber. Because each launch cycle ruptures the exit membrane and floods the facility with air, Thunderf00t argues that re-evacuating the massive volume would require hours of pumping, directly contradicting claims that the system could launch multiple satellites per day. Release Timing Inaccuracy and Projectile Tumbling (8:12) At a rotation rate of roughly two revolutions per second (700 to 1,000 degrees per second), releasing a projectile within a one-degree trajectory window requires timing precision down to approximately one millisecond. Frame-by-frame analysis of SpinLaunch's released footage reveals that the projectile exited the chimney off-axis by about 30 degrees, narrowly missing the structure's wall. Upon hitting dense sea-level air outside the vacuum seal, the vehicle pitched violently sideways, tumbling nearly 90 degrees broadside into the airflow before its stabilizing fins exerted control. Thunderf00t emphasizes that this chaotic, hooking trajectory demonstrated an unguided, tumbling projectile rather than a stable, controlled ascent toward orbit. Catastrophic Kinetic Hazards and Questionable Credentials (16:05) The enormous rotational kinetic energy stored in an orbital-scale centrifuge presents extreme physical hazards. Thunderf00t points out that any tether or structural failure at operational speeds would release fragmentation at Mach 7, generating shrapnel with the destructive force of military railgun projectiles. Despite this danger, SpinLaunch situated its primary control room directly adjacent to the centrifuge ring within the blast arc, rather than behind distant, reinforced bunkers. Thunderf00t also draws parallels to historical tech failures such as Theranos, highlighting that founder Jonathan Yaney lacks a technical background in aerospace engineering, orbital mechanics, or vacuum systems, possessing credentials limited to around a thousand hours as an airplane pilot. He argues that venture backers frequently accept disruption narratives while ignoring fundamental engineering constraints. Thunderf00t concludes that SpinLaunch's demonstration represents over-promised vaporware that is outclassed in speed, range, and accuracy by century-old naval artillery, leaving the concept's theoretical viability severely undermined by basic physical laws.

精炼阅读摘要

科学评论博主 Thunderf00t 指出，航天初创公司 SpinLaunch 宣称利用离心机实现低成本轨道发射的概念严重脱离物理与工程现实。其实际测试不仅动能仅达标称的约 2%，而且在真空密封、热力学阻力、机械释放稳定性以及测试安全设计上存在致命缺陷。公关宣传过度与炒作模式 (0:00) SpinLaunch 宣称通过电动机驱动离心机旋转系留火箭约 1 小时，加速至超过 5000 英里/小时（约 2000 米/秒，达 7 马赫），随后经由 35 度发射烟囱射入轨道。在最近的公开测试中，该公司采用了类似以往 Hyperloop 和阿波罗 11 号土星 5 号发射时的倒计时戏剧化手法，搭配员工欢呼与彩带制造历史性突破的氛围。Thunderf00t 认为，这类炒作手法掩盖了核心工程瓶颈，试图用情感共鸣和空泛愿景来包装百年前就因技术限制而被搁置的陈旧概念。高真空密封与沙漠扬尘隐患 (3:24) 若要在海平面大气压下达到 7 马赫，极速旋转的旋转臂将承受灾难性的压缩热。以 25 公里高空巡航的 SR-71“黑鸟”侦察机为例，其在 0.05 个大气压的稀薄空气中以 3 马赫飞行时，挡风玻璃温度已超过 300 摄氏度；而在海平面厚重空气中，空气分子运动速度仅约声速，高速撞击会产生类似轨道再入的剧烈绝热压缩，因此离心机内部必须维持极致的超高真空环境。然而现场画面显示，SpinLaunch 建在沙漠中的测试舱内部存在肉眼可见的泥沙与灰尘，内部清洁度严重不达标，这不仅直接威胁高真空密封圈的寿命，也会大幅削弱泵送系统的效率。动能缺口与真空轴承设计缺陷 (13:28) Thunderf00t 指出，测试中弹体实际展示的动能仅为达到 5000 英里/小时承诺速度所需动能的约 2%，发射速度甚至远逊于百年前一战时期发射初速超 2 马赫的战列舰舰炮。在真空工程方面，该装置的主驱动轴承直接暴露在大气环境中，缺乏内部真空屏蔽罩。工业真空系统极难防止气体从大型旋转轴承间隙渗透，即使微小的针孔泄漏也会摧毁真空度。此外，每次发射破坏密封隔膜后，外部空气暴烈灌入巨大的测试舱，重新抽真空需要数小时，这直接粉碎了官方声称的“几天内发射一整个卫星星座”的商业周转设想。释放姿态失稳与严重偏航问题 (8:12) 当离心臂以每秒约 2 转（角速度达 700 至 1000 度/秒）旋转时，要确保发射角度偏差在 1 度以内，机械释放时机的控制精度必须达到约 1 毫秒。对官方公布的仅 7 秒释放画面的逐帧分析显示，控制屏上的真空计读数被刻意模糊处理；弹体在穿破出口隔膜时并未平直飞出，尾部呈现约 30 度的偏航夹角。弹体离开烟囱后发生剧烈翻滚，机身在气流中甚至横转接近 90 度，险些撞击发射管壁，直到尾翼咬住空气后才勉强修正姿态。这种失控状态说明其释放机构存在严重设计问题，而非稳定的制导太空载具。致命动能风险与虚假叙事 (14:35) SpinLaunch 创始人 Jonathan Yaney 并无航空航天工程、轨道力学或高真空结构设计的专业背景，其公开资历主要仅为约 1000 小时的飞行员驾龄，Thunderf00t 将这种依赖硅谷风投叙事的现象类比于 Theranos 公司的骗局。更为危险的是，高速旋转系统蕴含极大的破坏力，若系留装置或弹体在全速运转时发生结构解体，飞溅碎片的破坏力等同于 7 马赫的电磁轨道炮弹药。常规高危动能测试通常会在远距离设置重型防护掩体，但 SpinLaunch 却将主控室直接设在离心机环形外壁旁，仅隔着普通墙体，置于潜在的致命破片杀伤弧线之内。 Thunderf00t 总结认为，SpinLaunch 此次展示依赖大量电脑生成的太空概念动画、模糊仪表参数的 7 秒剪辑测试视频以及员工庆祝画面，本质上属于典型的“画饼软件”（Vaporware）。其低速测试成果不仅在射程、速度和精度上均被旧式军火火炮超越，更无力解决基础物理学规律带来的气动加热、动能储备与真空工程矛盾。

Detailed notes — zh

## Background 该视频由科普博主 Thunderf00t 于 2021 年 11 月 17 日发布在 YouTube 平台上。视频简介主要提供了其 Patreon 赞助链接、亚马逊推广店铺以及副频道的关注入口。 ## TL;DR Thunderf00t 针对航天初创公司 SpinLaunch 发布的离心机弹射测试视频展开了深入的伪科学打假与工程学剖析。他指出，该项目通过倒计时和员工欢呼等公关手段制造轰动，掩盖了原型机内部粉尘堆积、外露轴承无法维持深真空等业余缺陷；实际发射速度极低，出膛时弹体更发生严重失稳翻滚，险些砸毁发射管。此外，离心加速到 7 马赫会面临极端气动热与无法连珠发射等物理死穴，且一旦发生结构解体，巨大的动能将使整座设施沦为波及邻近控制中心的超高速破片炸弹。 ## Atmosphere & style 整期视频充斥着 Thunderf00t 标志性的辛辣嘲讽与冷峻的技术批判，叙事风格犀利直接且寸步不让。伴随着对官方宣传片煽情包装与逐帧测试画面的严酷对比，观感在荒谬的喜感与令人倒吸凉气的工程安全隐患之间反复切换。随着对动能炸弹风险与空壳独角兽套路的逐步拆解，全片最终凝结为一种清醒、刺骨且极具戒备意味的科学幻灭感。 ## Bulletin - [13:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=808s) SpinLaunch 宣称利用巨型离心机将火箭加速至约 7 马赫（2000 米/秒）并发射入轨，但本次实际测试输出的动能仅为承诺指标的约 2%，速度可能刚勉强达到音速。 - [08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) 慢动作与逐帧叠加分析暴露了严重的释放机构缺陷：抛射物刚出膛时即偏转约 30 度并发生近 90 度的失控横滚，险些砸碎发射管道。 - [14:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=875s) 该系统在工程上面临真空密封与热障难题：核心轴承外露导致深真空难以维持，且每次破膜发射均会导致大气倒灌，使“数天发射一整个星座”的宣传在流体力学上无法成立。 - [16:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=965s) 若离心机在满功率旋转时发生机械失效，整座装置将瞬间化为飞溅速度达 7 马赫的巨型动能破片炸弹，而人员控制中心竟直接紧挨着离心腔体搭建。 ## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=0s) SpinLaunch 依赖阿波罗登月式的倒计时、煽情音乐与漫天彩带等公关包装掩盖技术硬伤，套路与当年的 Hyperloop 炒作如出一辙。 - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=0s) 离心发射构想早在数百年前就已存在，几个世纪以来无法落地的根本原因在于难以克服的物理与工程屏障。 - [03:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=203s) SpinLaunch 的真空室内部积满泥土与铁锈，反映出团队在大型深真空系统维护上的严重业余性。 - [03:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=203s) 海平面大气压下飞行阻力极大，且 7 马赫下的动能是 1 马赫的近 50 倍，若真空度不足将导致机械臂与弹体因剧烈压缩加热（达 1000°C）而烧毁融化。 - [08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) 离心机以约 2 转/秒旋转时，若要将发射角偏差控制在 1 度以内，切断释放机构的响应精度必须在 1 毫秒以内。 - [08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) 测试视频不仅将控制室真空度量程打上厚马赛克，慢动作还显示弹体出膛时横向扭转近 90 度并在空中剧烈翻滚。 - [11:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=714s) 弹体刚出膛便高速撞击外部稠密大气，气动力导致弹道剧烈侧偏拉钩，表明分离系统对弹体施加了致命的侧向力矩与角动量。 - [13:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=808s) 本次测试原型机展现的动能输出，仅为将载荷送入轨道所需能量的 2% 左右，完全未验证轨道级发射的核心技术。 - [13:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=808s) 原型机的核心机械轴承暴露在外部，缺乏高标准的动态真空密封，环境气体极易在高差压下持续漏入腔体。 - [14:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=875s) 每次发射物体冲出管口都会撕裂物理密封膜导致外部大气瞬间倒灌，重新抽真空需数小时以上，无法实现高频连续发射。 - [14:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=875s) 创始人缺乏深厚的航天或物理专业背景，其跨界叙事被 Thunderf00t 辛辣对比为 Theranos 式的科技泡沫神话。 - [16:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=965s) 系统内部储存的动能极其危险，一旦高速旋转中发生结构断裂，其破坏力堪比 7 马赫射弹的巨型炸弹，而控制中心缺乏起码的安全防护间距。 - [16:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=965s) 整场发布依靠大量概念渲染图与仅 7 秒且破绽百出的测试片段拼凑而成，实际工程效能甚至远落后于百年前一战时期的旧战列舰主炮。 ## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=0s) SpinLaunch 的宣传热潮与炒作套路 Thunderf00t 指出，许多观众要求他深入剖析号称要颠覆航天发射领域的初创公司 SpinLaunch。这家美国航天企业建造了一座巨大的离心机，旨在通过离心加速将航天器甩入近地轨道。按照其设想，离心机的电动机将带动系留火箭旋转整整一个小时以积蓄速度；一旦火箭被加速到超过 5000 英里/小时（约 8000 公里/小时），释放机构便会将其切断释放，让火箭沿着 35 度角的发射通道冲出真空室。本周该公司公布了所谓成功的测试画面，现场伴随着漫天飘落的彩带与员工激动的欢呼，一副取得重大技术突破的架势。然而，Thunderf00t 敏锐地指出，这种叙事与当年的 Hyperloop（超级高铁）测试视频如出一辙——必须依靠夸张的倒计时和太空任务级别的公关包装来填充内容。之所以采用倒计时，是因为人类历史上最伟大的成就之一（如阿波罗登月）使用了倒计时，给人一种只要复制这个流程，其成果就同样伟大、足以改变世界的错觉。伴随着煽情的背景音乐和宇航员通话录音，宣传片不断灌输着“探索、连接、创新”等宏大叙事，并声称要降低进入太空的门槛。但实际上，这种想法在数百年前就有人提出过，且几个世纪以来出于极其充分的物理和工程原因从未走出过图纸阶段。Thunderf00t 讽刺道：“‘这究竟是一个真正的成就、航天发射界保守最严的秘密、完全配得上一副慢动作的高潮脸，还是说只是一个相当微不足道的成果，甚至还不如一个喝醉了的老头操作一门百年历史的旧火炮？’” - 官方宣传构想：离心机电机旋转 1 小时积蓄动能，速度达到 5000 英里/小时（约 7 马赫、2000 米/秒）。 - 发射通道设计：倾斜 35 度的离心发射管道，末端设有密封释放机构。 - 宣传手段：效仿阿波罗登月的倒计时机制（CAPCOM 通话声效）、漫天彩带与高调煽情文案，掩盖技术实质。 --- ### [03:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=203s) 真空系统缺陷与超高音速热障难题 Thunderf00t 承认，在荒漠中建造世界上跨度最大的真空室确实耗资巨大，但他随即指出了严重的工程隐患。在大型高真空系统中，最基本的铁律是内部金属表面必须极为洁净；一旦管道内部出现大量铁锈、泥土和灰尘，就说明设计团队根本不懂高真空技术。当年 Hyperloop 宣传片里管道内部早已锈迹斑斑，而 SpinLaunch 的真空室内部同样堆积着污垢与粉尘。对于一个极其依赖高质量真空来消除空气阻力的系统而言，这暴露了致命的业余性。 ```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: SpinLaunch 极速旋转下的气动与热力学挑战 accDescr: 解释 SpinLaunch 在大气与真空条件下面临的超音速阻力、压缩加热及散热难题 subgraph GroundLevel ["地表与低空环境限制"] A["地表空气密度大 (1 atm)"] --> B["超音速阻力激增"] B --> C["大气中旋转导致机械臂极速融化"] end subgraph VacuumChamber ["真空室内部极限"] D["必须维持极高真空度"] --> E["转速目标达 2000 m/s (~7 马赫)"] E --> F["空气分子热运动仅 ~300 m/s"] F --> G["物体前方产生 20:1 剧烈压缩加热"] G --> H["产生 ~1000°C 极高温度且只能依靠辐射散热"] end GroundLevel --> VacuumChamber ``` 用旋转机构积蓄能量本身符合物理原理（正如机器人格斗节目《Robot Wars》或《BattleBots》中的旋转武器，能用数秒时间持续注入大量动能，远超几毫秒内做功的机械斧），但当速度被推高到 2000 米/秒（约 7 马赫、音速的 7 倍）时，能量是音速物体的近 50 倍，随之而来的物理灾难是难以逾越的。在海平面大气压（1 个大气压）下，人类飞机的极速纪录仅仅勉强超过音速（约 1000 英里/小时）；即便是飞行在 3 马赫的黑鸟侦察机（SR-71），也必须飞升至 25 公里高空（四分之一的太空高度），在仅有 0.05 个大气压的稀薄空气中巡航，此时机身和挡风玻璃依然会被气动加热到 300 摄氏度以上。空气分子的平均热运动速度大约只有音速，当物体以数倍音速运动时，本质上是一台强力“绝热压缩机”。重返大气层的物体以 20 马赫飞行时，会产生约 20:1 的压缩比，导致表面温度高达 1000 摄氏度，且在近真空状态下只能通过效率极低的辐射散热。如果离心机在真空度不足或常压下以 7 马赫旋转，巨大的气动阻力和摩擦将直接导致机械臂和弹头彻底烧毁融化。 - 地表极速瓶颈：1 个大气压下常规飞机极限仅稍超 1 马赫；SR-71 在 25 公里高度（0.05 atm）巡航，表面温度仍超过 300°C。 - 能量标度：7 马赫（2000 米/秒）下的动能是 1 马赫物体的近 50 倍。 - 压缩加热效应：当飞行速度远超空气分子速度（约 300 米/秒）时，物体产生剧烈压缩加热（高马赫下压缩比可达 20:1，产生约 1000°C 高温）。 --- ### [08:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=492s) 发射脱靶与致命的姿态失稳（翻滚出膛） Thunderf00t 分析了测试的实际数据，指出本次发射的速度非常低，顶多刚刚达到音速，甚至可能根本没有超音速——传统战列舰舰炮发射炮弹的速度都能轻易达到音速的两倍以上，而且舰炮能精准命中瞄准方向。而 SpinLaunch 发射出的弹丸却连直线飞行都无法保证，这表明其释放机构存在严重缺陷。当离心机以每秒约 2 转（约 700 到 1000 度/秒）的速度旋转时，若想将发射角误差控制在 1 度以内，机械切断与释放的时间精度必须精确到大约 1 毫秒之内。稍有偏差，弹体就会撞上发射井甚至摧毁整个真空仓。深入审查那段仅有 7 秒的演示视频，Thunderf00t 发现控制室屏幕的关键数值（例如真空度量程标尺）被刻意打上了厚厚的马赛克。在导弹破膜飞出的慢动作镜头中，异常情况彻底暴露： > “你看，如果它是从管道中笔直飞出的话，那么导弹前端露出的位置应该与导弹尾部露出的位置完全相同……但尾部出来的落点完全不在同一个地方，实际上尾部偏移得非常厉害，它带着大概 30 度的严重偏转。” 慢动作逐帧回放显示，弹体并非稳定滑翔，而是在空中剧烈翻滚（Tumbling）。刚飞出洞口时，弹体甚至横向旋转了接近 90 度，随后在空中一边翻滚扭动一边侧向偏飞，在飞行一段距离后才稍微借助空气动力学效应拉直。这证明分离系统对弹体施加了巨大的侧向力矩与角动量，弹体不仅没有沿着预定弹道飞行，反而处于严重的失控翻滚状态。Thunderf00t 强调，测试团队这次没有在发射瞬间让弹丸直接撞碎发射管道、摧毁整个数百万美元的真空室，已经算他们走运了。 - 旋转角速度：离心机转速约为 2 转/秒（700°–1000°/秒）。 - 释放时间窗口：角度公差若要求在 1° 以内，切断释放机构的响应精度必须在 1 毫秒以内。 - 姿态偏角：慢动作显示弹头出膛时头部与尾部偏角达到约 30 度，并在空中发生接近 90 度的失稳翻滚。 ### [11:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=714s) 弹道轨迹分析与失控翻滚的发射物通过将官方公开视频中的多帧画面进行逐帧叠加，可以清晰还原出 SpinLaunch 抛射物的真实运动轨迹。画面中的导弹状物体在离开垂直发射管后显得异常滑稽，其重心位置虽然在上升，但整个弹体已经出现了接近 90 度的严重横滚与偏转。Thunderf00t 指出：“弹体根本没有笔直飞行，而且正在疯狂旋转。”官方视频在展示远距离慢动作镜头时表现得极不自然，他们刻意切断了发射物从发射管冲出并升入高空的完整连续画面，只截取了局部片段。如果沿着发射管出口的方向画一条平行延长线，就会发现抛射物虽然大致顺着发射管的方向窜出，但出膛的角度极不正常。当物体以高速撞击外部稠密大气层的一瞬间，空气动力学效应立刻野蛮介入，导致弹体直接向侧面剧烈偏折拉钩，直到爬升到更高的高度才勉强依靠气动外形稳定下来。Thunderf00t 直言，剥离掉那些被刻意模糊处理的监控屏幕和剪辑伪装，实际的测试现场无非就是一个刚被释放的抛射物险些在出口处砸碎并彻底摧毁他们自己的发射设施。 ```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: SpinLaunch 发射物出膛受力与偏转过程 accDescr: 抛射物从真空管出膛后撞击大气，产生姿态失稳与横向偏转 subgraph TubeExit ["发射管出膛阶段"] A["离心机高速旋转释放"] --> B["破裂密封膜冲出管口"] B --> C["出膛角度出现异常倾斜"] end subgraph AtmosphericImpact ["进入稠密大气阶段"] C --> D["极速撞击外部大气层"] D --> E["强烈气动力引发剧烈横滚与偏折"] E --> F["弹体向一侧拉钩甩尾"] end ``` - 官方公布的测试视频通过跳切与距离掩盖弹体出膛姿态，没有放出从出膛到高空飞行的完整平滑长镜头。 - 帧叠加分析显示，弹体刚离开管口就发生接近 90 度的翻滚，未能维持设计所需的笔直出膛姿态。 - 抛射物在极速撞击外部大气环境时发生气动侧滑，险些直接撞击并摧毁出口管道结构。 ### [13:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=808s) 宣传炒作与真空轴承的工程死穴主流媒体对这次测试的报道充斥着狂热的赞美，纷纷将其标榜为“彻底颠覆卫星发射的革命性突破”，却对核心物理现实避而不谈。这次发射完全没有验证任何实现轨道级发射所必需的突破性关键技术。Thunderf00t 评估道，制造这样一台能运作的轨道发射设备虽然在物理上并非绝对不可能，但眼前的原型机根本无法打消他的任何担忧：这台机器实际输出的动能，仅仅只有将该抛射物加速到其承诺时速所需能量的 2%。更为致命的工程隐患在于这套系统的真空维持能力。这台原型机没有任何迹象表明它能够抽到并长时间维持超高真空度，其中最荒谬的结构缺陷在于其核心轴承完全裸露在外部，没有采用封闭密封设计。Thunderf00t 指出，全世界没有任何一套严谨的深真空系统敢采用这种大型旋转轴贯穿密封结构，因为要阻止外部气体通过高速运转的机械轴承不断渗透漏入，在工程上几乎是不可能完成的。回顾以往对超级高铁（Hyperloop）的科学分析就能明白，只要存在针尖大小的微小泄漏孔，就足以彻底摧毁整个系统的真空环境。 - 当前测试机所展现的能量释放，仅占承诺的轨道发射所需动能的 2% 左右。 - 旋转加速器的核心机械轴承暴露在外，缺乏彻底封闭的真空绝热腔体。 - 巨大的旋转轴贯穿处极难做到动态真空密封，环境气体会在高差压下持续渗入腔体。 ### [14:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=875s) 荒诞的发射构想与主持人的创业神话 SpinLaunch 创始人公开画饼，宣称要在未来以极高的发射频次在“数天之内发射一整个卫星星座”。然而，从基本的热力学与真空流体力学来看，这一设想纯属天方夜谭。每一次发射物体冲出真空室管道时，都会瞬间撕裂出口的物理密封薄膜，外部大气会在一瞬间彻底倒灌并排气填满整个庞大的加速舱。这意味着每次发射结束后，系统都需要耗费数个小时甚至更久来重新抽取深真空，根本不可能实现连珠炮式的连续发射。谈及公司创始人的履历背景时，Thunderf00t 充满了讽刺。该创始人的公开资质除了拥有 1000 小时的飞行员驾驶经历和头戴“连续创业者”的头衔外，没有任何深厚的航天或物理专业学术背景。创始人自述称，他只是退后一步用“全新视角”重新思考如何摆脱火箭进入太空，随后便灵光一现想到了离心加速器。Thunderf00t 对此辛辣讽刺道：“这并非不可能，就像一个没有任何经验的 19 岁年轻人完全有可能发明一台彻底改变验血行业的机器一样，但我绝不会把赌注押在这上面。”这一对比直接将 SpinLaunch 的商业叙事与当年 Theranos 的血检骗局划上了等号。 > “在完全相同的意义上，一个没有任何经验的 19 岁年轻人完全有可能发明一台彻底颠覆验血行业的机器，但我绝不会把赌注押在这上面。” —— Thunderf00t - 商业宣传宣称可在几天内发射成百上千颗卫星组成的卫星星座。 - 每次发射都会完全破坏真空屏障，导致外部空气瞬间冲灌整个腔体，重新抽真空耗时数小时以上。 - 创始人的专业技术背景仅为 1000 小时飞行经历，被包装成打破航天思维定势的“跨界创新者”。 ### [16:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=965s) 动能炸弹隐患与“PPT独角兽”的收场当巨大的机械臂在真空室内储存如此恐怖的动能时，任何微小的结构失效都将导致灾难性的后果。Thunderf00t 引入了风力发电机在低得多的转速下叶片解体自毁的真实录像作为参考，指出如果 SpinLaunch 这套全尺寸系统在高速旋转时发生任何机械卡死或材料疲劳断裂，整座设施就会瞬间变成一颗巨型破片炸弹，其甩出的金属破片飞溅速度将达到音速的 7 倍左右，堪比超高速电磁轨道炮射弹。荒谬的是，SpinLaunch 似乎对这种危险视若无睹，其控制中心建筑竟然大摇大摆地直接紧挨着离心加速器主建筑搭建。回顾整场公关秀，其核心公式不过是：极度依赖计算机渲染的未来概念图、仅有 7 秒钟意义不明且漏洞百出的原型测试片段，再加上长达 20 秒各路人员欢呼激动的反应镜头。Thunderf00t 总结道，这项所谓轰动全球的测试成就，在任何硬核的工程与动能指标上，甚至都远不如一艘造于一百年前的旧战列舰主炮开火来得强大。 > “夸大其词，虚假承诺，却交付不足——全中，这就是典型的空壳独角兽骗局！” —— Thunderf00t 在视频的尾声，Thunderf00t 提醒观众，面对主流媒体轻信盲从的狂热宣传，保持理性审视和常识逻辑才是解药，并呼吁观众通过点赞、订阅和 Patreon 赞助来支持这种打破科技泡沫、还原科学真相的科普创作。 - 系统失效风险极高：材料断裂将产生以 7 马赫速度横扫周围的高能金属碎片。 - 现场安全规划荒唐：人员控制中心与极高动能隐患的旋转腔体处于危险的紧邻位置。 - 实际物理产出低下：7 秒测试片段与大量渲染图拼凑而成的成就，全面落后于百年前一战时期的重型战列舰舰炮射击能量。 ## Notable quotes > [16:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=965s) 夸大其词，虚假承诺，却交付不足——全中，这就是典型的空壳独角兽骗局！ — Thunderf00t > [14:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE&t=875s) 一个没有任何经验的 19 岁年轻人完全有可能发明一台彻底颠覆验血行业的机器，但我绝不会把赌注押在这上面。 — Thunderf00t ## Mentioned Thunderf00t, SpinLaunch, Hyperloop, 阿波罗登月计划, SR-71 黑鸟侦察机, Robot Wars, BattleBots, Theranos, Patreon ## Video description You can support this channel directly through patreon: https://patreon.com/Thunderf00t or at my amazon affiliate store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/thunderf00t or my other channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUrdmVprSahXaPKqr04VfgQ [Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziGI0i9VbE)

Source quotes

[16:05] Thunderf00t: 夸大其词，虚假承诺，却交付不足——全中，这就是典型的空壳独角兽骗局！ [14:35] Thunderf00t: 一个没有任何经验的 19 岁年轻人完全有可能发明一台彻底颠覆验血行业的机器，但我绝不会把赌注押在这上面。

Original transcript

[0:00] so loads of people asked me to take a [0:02] look at spin launch which intends to [0:04] revolutionize access to space a u.s [0:08] aerospace company is building a huge [0:10] centrifuge to launch spacecraft into [0:12] orbit the centrifuge's electric motor [0:14] will spin the tethered rocket for an [0:15] hour to build up speed once the rocket [0:18] is ratcheted up to speed at over 5000 [0:20] miles per hour the release mechanism [0:22] will cut the vehicle loose and let it [0:24] fly through the 35 degree launch tunnel [0:26] and then they have this demonstration of [0:28] it working this week just look at that [0:31] pure scent of achievement um a massive [0:34] breakthrough just look at all the [0:36] confetti [0:38] right [0:38] or is this maybe more like the uh [0:41] hyperloop demo video you know where all [0:43] the achievements have to be fluffed out [0:45] with things like countdowns because [0:47] countdowns were used on one of the most [0:49] iconic achievements of mankind ever [0:53] ignition sequence start [0:55] six [0:56] five four three [0:59] two [1:00] one [1:01] zero all engine running [1:03] liftoff we have a liftoff 32 minutes [1:07] past the hour [1:09] tower cleared [1:10] so if we replicate such a countdown that [1:12] must mean that our achievements are [1:14] truly magnificent and world-changing as [1:17] well and of course you've got to make [1:19] lots of misty-eyed vague promises about [1:22] how your new invention [1:24] and actually be hundreds of years old [1:26] and never left the drawing board before [1:27] for very good reasons it's gonna change [1:30] everything let's watch [1:35] we're driven to explore [1:38] to connect [1:40] to innovate [1:42] space is full of resources and [1:44] opportunities we can't even necessarily [1:47] think of yet to muster the courage to [1:49] take a giant leap forward [1:52] the possibilities that arise when you [1:54] have lower cost access to space can have [1:57] great impact to the world the time has [1:59] come to ask ourselves again [2:02] what is the future we want to build [2:06] [Music] [2:10] capcom you are go for launch countdown [2:13] pegasus this is capcom all right [2:14] everybody [2:17] prepare for launching 10. [2:19] countdown [2:32] launch [2:33] three [2:34] two 1 [2:36] 5. [2:44] [Music] [2:53] today the first people traveled safely [2:55] on a hyperloop [3:02] the pressure's good everything oh my god [3:04] i'm so proud of you guys so is this a [3:06] real achievement which is space launch's [3:09] best kept secret entirely worthy of a [3:12] slow motion resting orgasm face was this [3:15] a more modest achievement be kind of sad [3:18] if it could be outclassed by itself a [3:20] drunk man in charge of a hundred year [3:22] old artillery piece now i'm going to [3:24] take my hat off to him for building a [3:26] massive expensive vacuum chamber out in [3:29] the middle of the desert no not that one [3:32] this one look the widest span vacuum [3:35] chamber in the world [3:36] which might turn out to be a problem [3:39] later which is my first problem you know [3:42] there's a general rule with big vacuum [3:44] systems that they clean metal surfaces [3:48] on the inside you know so if there's [3:50] loads of say for instance rust on the [3:52] inside of your tube this is a sign that [3:54] you don't know what the hell you're [3:56] doing with vacuum systems now the very [4:00] first thing i noticed about the [4:01] hyperloop within seconds was that it was [4:04] completely rusted up on the inside [4:07] completely which kind of diminishes the [4:10] grandiose claims of what you're going to [4:12] do with that vacuum system imagine going [4:14] from new york to washington dc or la to [4:17] san francisco and less than an hour in [4:19] one of these giant vacuum tubes oh man [4:22] this is a heavy door [4:24] okay so what if i told you that there [4:27] was a mode of transportation that not [4:29] only promised to leave planes trains and [4:32] automobiles all in the dust it seems [4:34] like the people crying debunked are [4:36] assuming that all of the [4:38] scientists and engineers at spacex and [4:40] all these universities haven't taken a [4:43] grade 11 physics course yes well one [4:45] that tells you that steel rusts when it [4:47] gets wet anyway so this is my first [4:51] problem with their vacuum chamber is [4:53] it's got piles of dirt and dust around [4:56] on it not a good look for a system where [4:59] the quality of the vacuum will be [5:01] critical to its function and the idea is [5:03] you're basically going to spin objects [5:05] up till they're fast enough then you're [5:07] going to love them into the sky now [5:09] spinny things are good for adding energy [5:11] like this something that anyone who's [5:13] seen robot wars or battle bots will know [5:15] well the practical reason why axes are [5:18] limited is you have a limited amount of [5:20] time to put the energy into them in a [5:23] fraction of a second [5:25] whilst with a spinner you can add energy [5:27] over a period of seconds which means you [5:30] can add a lot more energy to a spinny [5:33] thing well it's the same deal here the [5:36] centrifuges electric motor will spin the [5:38] tethered rocket for an hour to build up [5:40] speed once the rocket is ratcheted up to [5:42] speed at over 5000 miles per hour the [5:45] issue is they want to get the tips of [5:47] this thing going about 2 000 meters per [5:50] second with the speed of sound paying [5:51] about 300 meters per second they want [5:54] the tip of this to be going about seven [5:55] times the speed of sound or that would [5:58] be about 50 times more energy than [6:00] something going the speed of sound and [6:02] the problems with that a legion which is [6:05] why they've not done it yet [6:07] now to spin something up to going [6:09] supersonic here on earth basically it [6:11] isn't possible the air is too thick and [6:14] stupid even with some fairly big engines [6:17] like in planes at sea level where the [6:19] air is thick but the atmospheric [6:22] pressure is one atmosphere the speed [6:24] record there is only just over the speed [6:27] of sound about 1000 miles per hour by [6:30] the time you're getting up to the [6:31] blackbird which flowed about three times [6:33] the speed of sound that had to go up 25 [6:37] kilometers a quarter of the way to space [6:40] where there is only about [6:42] 0.05 of an atmosphere and at that point [6:46] the skin was getting pretty toasty from [6:48] the mark iii the windscreen there got [6:50] over 300 degrees celsius you see this is [6:54] universally the problem with things [6:56] going this fast when there's even small [6:59] amounts of air present air molecules [7:02] only travel at about the speed of sound [7:04] so once you're going much faster than [7:06] the speed of sound any object basically [7:09] acts as a compressional heater [7:12] so for instance when you deorbit [7:13] something something comes down from [7:15] orbit it's going about 20 times the [7:17] speed of sound so let's say you've got a [7:19] random body and it's moving through the [7:21] air the air molecules are moving about [7:23] the speed of sound [7:25] so in the upper limit by the time these [7:27] air molecules have moved out of the way [7:29] of your object your object will have [7:31] gone through 20 times that distance [7:34] which gives you a compression ratio of [7:36] about 20 to 1 which gives you a an [7:39] expected external temperature of about a [7:41] thousand degrees celsius and also you're [7:44] mostly in a vacuum which means that your [7:47] main mechanism of being able to dump [7:49] that heat is via radiation this is the [7:52] real problem with these mass launchers [7:54] is you need them to operate in a vacuum [7:56] a very good vacuum yeah which means that [8:00] you've got your centrifuge happily [8:02] spinning away there at seven times the [8:04] speed of sound [8:05] it's not gonna happen in atmospheric [8:08] pressure well not without the arm [8:10] melting now in the current case it [8:13] probably doesn't greatly matter because [8:15] what they're launching is barely [8:17] supersonic if supersonic at all and for [8:20] reference your typical battleship gun [8:22] would fire things over two times the [8:24] speed of sound was the exception of [8:26] course that with your battleship guns [8:28] the shell went where you pointed the gun [8:31] i mean one thing she'll notice about [8:32] their test here is their shell doesn't [8:35] come out straight basically their [8:37] release mechanism is screwed up or [8:39] something which is not entirely [8:41] unsurprising the centrifuge is doing [8:43] about two revolutions per second or it's [8:45] rotating about 700 degrees per second [8:48] call it a thousand which means that if [8:50] you want a trajectory within one degree [8:53] you have to get the timing release [8:55] within about a millisecond but that's [8:57] maybe not their problem here their [8:58] projectile is tumbling in fact they were [9:01] actually fairly lucky [9:03] that they didn't destroy their chamber [9:05] here so let's take a look at the amazing [9:07] video of this machine actually working [9:10] this it's what's going to convince us [9:12] that this is going to be an amazing [9:14] revolutionary new way of getting low [9:16] cost satellites to orbit [9:28] that was it [9:29] and yeah it's an entire seven seconds of [9:34] video first thing you notice is that [9:36] great portions of these screens are [9:39] actually [9:40] blurred out with stuff that you wouldn't [9:43] have thought was so important like [9:46] why are you blurring out the actual [9:48] scale on the vacuum [9:50] and seemed like that would be terribly [9:52] important [9:54] that's it so let's break this down into [9:56] uh segments and the first one that we're [9:58] going to look at is the actual [10:01] missile emerging from the window very [10:05] nice piece of slow-motion footage [10:07] uh but hang on [10:10] hang on a second something's [10:12] something's not quite right here [10:15] something's very not quite right here [10:18] you see the thing is that if this was [10:20] emerging [10:21] in a nice straight line from the tube [10:25] then you would expect the exit point of [10:27] the tip of the missile to be the same as [10:30] the exit point of the back of the [10:32] missile so the front of the missile [10:34] exits there [10:36] and the back exits in exactly the same [10:39] oh the back doesn't exit in the same [10:41] place in fact the back exits like hugely [10:44] off [10:45] like um uh what [10:48] it's got like a 30 degree twist on this [10:51] or something [10:53] it's got a huge twist on it seeing this [10:55] has just been released or something by [10:58] their mechanism that's a huge twist to [11:02] have on their missile and okay well [11:05] let's take a look at the actual bit [11:08] where you can actually see the missile [11:10] being thrown up into the sky [11:13] and it's like hang on [11:14] is that really tumbling like i think [11:16] it's tumbling [11:18] if we go through this frame by frame [11:22] so the missile is where is that here [11:26] that's like rotated by almost 90 degrees [11:30] then it's normal again now it's 90 [11:32] degrees again [11:34] and [11:35] that that's basically it and yeah if you [11:37] think that's not flying in a very [11:40] straight line there's probably a good [11:41] reason for it looks like it shoots off [11:43] to the side first and then after [11:46] spinning for a bit actually straightens [11:49] out and the reason for that um well you [11:51] actually go through and plot up a [11:54] trajectory for it so this is [11:57] overlapping the frames and drawing a [12:00] trajectory for their missile so the [12:02] missile is here [12:04] and now it's here [12:06] and the reason it looks all funny of [12:09] course is you only visualize it where [12:10] it's not spinning [12:12] that's the [12:13] uh sort of center of gravity of the [12:15] missile and yeah it's actually it's it's [12:18] well yeah i mean this is like 90 degrees [12:20] at the moment so [12:22] um the missile is not going straight [12:27] and it's spinning like crazy then [12:29] there's the last piece of footage which [12:31] again was this sort of slow motion [12:32] distance sean that's weird why didn't [12:34] they show it coming all the way out and [12:36] going all the way up that would be much [12:37] more impressive [12:39] right hang on a second [12:41] let's just draw up the trajectory [12:43] between the end of the tube there [12:46] and [12:47] where our object is and it's about there [12:51] somewhere let's just make that a little [12:53] more transparent so you can actually see [12:56] and then so what we're going to do is [12:57] going to put on a line that is basically [13:00] parallel to the tube and if i had to [13:03] guess what actually happened is it did [13:06] more or less come out the tube straight [13:07] but at a funny angle and yeah the second [13:10] it hits the atmosphere of course the [13:11] aerodynamics start having an effect so [13:13] it actually hooks over to the side and [13:15] then the aerodynamics sort of kick in by [13:17] the time it gets up to this sort of [13:19] altitude put simply there really isn't a [13:21] lot here beyond blurred screens and a [13:23] released projectile that came very close [13:26] to destroying their kit naturally that's [13:29] not what was reported it was all about [13:31] how this was a game changer that was [13:33] going to revolutionize satellite [13:35] launches well quietly glossing over that [13:38] that achieved none of the critical [13:40] breakthrough technologies that you would [13:42] need to do that so is it possible that a [13:45] machine like this could work in the [13:46] future well it's not impossible but [13:50] honestly this machine does nothing to [13:53] alleviate any of my concerns it delivers [13:56] two percent of the energy required to [13:58] throw this shell at the promised [14:01] miles per hour with probably one of the [14:03] things that concerns me the most being [14:05] there's no signs that this machine can [14:07] actually pull down and hold the serious [14:09] vacuum you would need with one of the [14:11] main concerns being the bearings are not [14:14] enclosed there are no serious vacuum [14:16] systems in the world that have large [14:19] bearing feed-throughs like this because [14:22] it's virtually impossible to stop gas [14:25] bleeding through the bearings and you'll [14:26] recall from my hyperloop videos of just [14:29] how small a pinhole you need to actually [14:32] completely trash a good vacuum system [14:35] then you take a look at their founder [14:37] who's going to be a real high flyer [14:38] right i mean he's planning to launch [14:40] constellations of satellites in days [14:43] well that's never going to happen even [14:46] if you can get all of this to work [14:48] perfectly every time you launch [14:50] something you break the seal on the [14:52] vacuum system you vent the entire system [14:57] meaning that it's going to be hours to [14:59] pump it down again and their ceo seems [15:02] to have no qualifications other than a [15:06] thousand hours of flying planes and [15:08] being a serial entrepreneur which is [15:11] jolly sporting but i can't find anything [15:13] else that he's actually been an [15:16] entrepreneur [15:17] that was the inspiration for spin launch [15:19] we basically asked the question is there [15:21] a way to get to space without a rocket [15:24] [Music] [15:25] i really took a look at it from just a [15:27] fresh perspective and that's when the [15:28] idea of a rotational accelerator came up [15:31] sure it's not impossible that someone [15:34] whose apparent professional training [15:36] consists of 1 000 hours flying planes [15:39] were sat there one day thinking how can [15:41] we revolutionize space flight forever [15:44] and came up with the idea that would do [15:46] it [15:47] it demonstrates an absolute awesome [15:50] opportunity for expansion into the last [15:53] available frontier [15:55] and it's not impossible that a 19 year [15:58] old with no experience could invent a [16:00] machine that would revolutionize blood [16:01] testing [16:03] but i wouldn't bet on it it's also worth [16:06] mentioning that because you're putting [16:07] so much energy into this spinning thing [16:10] if there's any failure on this thing [16:12] whatsoever well let's just get an idea [16:14] of what that might look like by watching [16:16] a wind turbine fail at a fraction of the [16:19] speed of this thing yeah if this ever [16:21] makes it to being a launch facility the [16:23] whole thing would have to be evacuated [16:26] every time this thing is spun up because [16:28] in the event of a failure you're going [16:30] to get shrapnel flying everywhere at [16:32] about seven times the speed of sound you [16:35] know railgun bullet type velocities but [16:38] of course the spin launch people have [16:40] thought this throw in in great detail [16:42] which is why their control center is [16:44] directly adjacent to the centrifuge [16:48] massive reliance on computer-generated [16:50] artistic impressions of how it will [16:53] really work [16:55] seven seconds of a prototype of some [16:58] sort working followed by 20 seconds of [17:01] reaction shots and an actual achievement [17:04] that could be outclassed in every [17:06] significant sense by a 100 year old [17:09] battleship how would that score in the [17:11] game of vaporware unicorns over promise [17:14] and under deliver [17:18] that's a bingo [17:22] and that is today's daily dose of sanity [17:26] if you enjoyed it drop a thumbs up on it [17:27] if you don't want to miss out on more [17:28] videos like this [17:30] how should we say redressing some of the [17:33] over-optimistic and very gullible [17:36] mainstream media coverage then you can [17:38] only subscribe and as ever if you really [17:41] like the work of this channel and want [17:43] to support it directly you can do it [17:44] through patreon [17:46] thanks for watching [17:48] [Music] [18:06] you