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A START-UP called SpinLaunch in California wants to catapult cargo into space, avoiding the need for heavy and expensive rocket fuel.

The concept relies on a centrifuge to spin a payload to high speeds, giving it enough momentum to penetrate the atmosphere.

But whirling a payload around fast enough to reach space would also subject it to g-forces that could damage electronics and rip apart anything remotely fragile. And exiting Earth’s atmosphere without burning up would require lots of heat shielding.

“It certainly wouldn’t be useful for fragile cargo, e.g. mammals like us,” says space-flight consultant Rand Simberg. But he says it could put fuel, supplies or maybe particularly robust small satellites into space.

The payloads would probably also need a boost from small thrusters, or a satellite that can intercept them. “You can’t just chuck things into orbit,” says Simberg.

SpinLaunch has yet to announce a date for any test launches.

This article appeared in print under the headline “Ditch rockets and hurl cargo to space”