Longshot Space

Longshot Space Technologies Corporation, founded in 2020 by CEO Mike Grace and CTO Nato Saichek, is an Oakland, California-based company operating in the aerospace and defense industry. The firm is developing a ground-based kinetic launch system, essentially a large gas-powered gun, to propel payloads into space, presenting a radical alternative to traditional chemical rockets. The inspiration for this approach is drawn from historical concepts like the V-3 cannon, but Longshot utilizes compressed gas instead of combustion for propulsion. Grace, whose background includes a stint in the Army, an astrobiology internship at NASA Ames, and a master's degree in genetics, was inspired by a lecture on light-gas guns for orbital launch. Saichek brings two decades of experience from aerospace startups, including a recent role at Astra.

The company's core business revolves around providing low-cost access to space for cargo and offering a platform for hypersonic testing. Its primary clients are entities that need to test materials or components in hypersonic environments, such as the U.S. Air Force, which has awarded the company over $3 million in contracts. Longshot aims to drastically reduce the cost of hypersonic testing, quoting prices around $150,000 per test, compared to the millions it can cost using current rocket-based methods. The ultimate goal is to launch 100 kg payloads into orbit for approximately $150 per kg. The business model is predicated on the idea that while rockets are necessary for human spaceflight, a more economical solution is needed for transporting the vast amounts of cargo and raw materials required for a sustained human presence in space.

Longshot's technology is centered on a multi-injection hypervelocity accelerator. This system uses a series of timed gas injections along a very long barrel to gradually accelerate a projectile, which is gentler on both the launch infrastructure and the payload compared to a single explosive event. The company has constructed a 60-foot prototype in Oakland capable of accelerating payloads to over Mach 4. A key technical innovation involves custom-designed, electrically actuated burst discs that allow for the precise, high-speed injection of gas into the barrel. Future plans include constructing a much larger system, potentially miles long, at a desert location in Nevada where hydrogen can be used as the accelerant gas to achieve higher velocities. The long-term vision includes a launch site with multiple guns arranged like spokes on a wheel, servicing a central integration facility.

Keywords: kinetic launch, hypersonic testing, space gun, projectile launch, aerospace and defense, compressed gas accelerator, multi-injection accelerator, low-cost space access, orbital launch, payload delivery, satellite launch, space logistics, Nato Saichek, Mike Grace, Draper Associates, Sam Altman, Blanck Capital, Myelin VC, Hydrazine Capital