Auriga Space: General Company and Development Updates and Discussions

[tankat0208]

A new infrastructure-based launch company in stealth just announced today their seed funding of 5 million dollars.

Founded by Winnie Lai, a former VP for Spinlaunch. Unlike Spinlaunch, they are trying to make a classic startram-like EM linear motor track.

https://payloadspace.com/exclusive-auriga-space-emerges-from-stealth-with-5m-funding-round/
https://www.aurigaspace.com/

[Asteroza]

A new infrastructure-based launch company in stealth just announced today their seed funding of 5 million dollars.

Founded by Winnie Lai, a former VP for Spinlaunch. Unlike Spinlaunch, they are trying to make a classic startram-like EM linear motor track.

https://payloadspace.com/exclusive-auriga-space-emerges-from-stealth-with-5m-funding-round/
https://www.aurigaspace.com/

An actual Startram layout, or just somebody deciding a long Inductrak needs to be built?

[Robotbeat]

I'm begging people to just do a light gas gun...

[TrevorMonty]

Couldn't find any useful info on their webpage. A concept video would be nice.

[2megs]

[...]
An actual Startram layout, or just somebody deciding a long Inductrak needs to be built?

Doesn't sound like it. From the article it sounds like they're going straight up.

Aiming the accelerator upwards, Auriga will shoot the vehicle out on what will be the ride of its life. After reaching a high altitude using just kinetic energy from the launch, the vehicle will then fire up its engines to complete the less intensive last leg to orbit.

Feel free to do your own math on the amount of ∆V that the vehicle must then provide during the “less intensive last leg to orbit”.

[edzieba]

I'm begging people to just do a light gas gun...

For single-stage guns, you are limited by gas velocity for a few km/s. Multi-stage guns can raise that limit, but have rather absurd accelerations (and jerks) that impose projectile geometry issues. e.g. if your 3-stage LGG has projectile accelerations in the 5 mega-g range (hitting 20km/s down a 4m final barrel), then your projectiles need to be thin films to avoid the projectile spalling into dust.
It makes the few tens of thousands of g the Spinlaunch projectiles experience seem gentle!

[Asteroza]

[...]
An actual Startram layout, or just somebody deciding a long Inductrak needs to be built?

Doesn't sound like it. From the article it sounds like they're going straight up.

Aiming the accelerator upwards, Auriga will shoot the vehicle out on what will be the ride of its life. After reaching a high altitude using just kinetic energy from the launch, the vehicle will then fire up its engines to complete the less intensive last leg to orbit.

Feel free to do your own math on the amount of ∆V that the vehicle must then provide during the “less intensive last leg to orbit”.

Nothing stopping someone from installing Inductrak in a vertical bore. Though that's just for stabilization at that point, a traditional linear motor providing the grunt.


There's something to be said for the first mile problem. Air launch is technically another first mile solution.


Now electromagnetic is the words used here. We may be being misled though. A plasma fired linear turbine could be generously called electromagnetic too.

[2megs]

[...]
An actual Startram layout, or just somebody deciding a long Inductrak needs to be built?

Doesn't sound like it. From the article it sounds like they're going straight up.

Aiming the accelerator upwards, Auriga will shoot the vehicle out on what will be the ride of its life. After reaching a high altitude using just kinetic energy from the launch, the vehicle will then fire up its engines to complete the less intensive last leg to orbit.

Feel free to do your own math on the amount of ∆V that the vehicle must then provide during the “less intensive last leg to orbit”.

Nothing stopping someone from installing Inductrak in a vertical bore. Though that's just for stabilization at that point, a traditional linear motor providing the grunt.


There's something to be said for the first mile problem. Air launch is technically another first mile solution.


Now electromagnetic is the words used here. We may be being misled though. A plasma fired linear turbine could be generously called electromagnetic too.

Sure, it's not completely without theoretical benefit. Yeeting your rocket straight up could basically pre-pay your gravity and aero loses. That in turn could let you move your first stage's optimization targets to favor ISp and mass fraction over raw thrust.

BUT...

After going straight up you still need so much horizontal ∆V that you're still in TSTO territory. In a world where engineering isn't free, it's easier to just make Stage 1 bigger and launch from a mundane pad than to build a crazy Stage 0.

A massive railgun in the Himalayas that imparts enough horizontal velocity that you can get away with a reusable SSTO for maneuvering? That would be a true wonder of the world, and it would be amazing if humanity could come together and build it.

But that's not what this is. This smells like a grift to get money from wealthy non-technical investors who don't understand that orbit is much more about FAST than HIGH.