GoKawiilLongshot Space raises $20M to launch cargo into orbit using a giant gun
Alameda-based startup Longshot Space Technology, led by CEO Mike Grace and CTO Nato Saichek, is developing a multi-stage gun system that accelerates projectiles toward orbit instead of using rockets. The company has raised roughly $20 million from venture investors and is currently testing a 70-foot, six-inch-diameter gun that has fired projectiles at speeds up to Mach 4. Longshot plans to present its technology at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
By adapting decades-old multi-injection gun designs from military and research programs, Longshot is betting it can de-risk a launch method the way SpaceX did with rocket reuse, according to Grace's comments. If scaled successfully, a ground-based gun launch system could cut costs for sending cargo to space by eliminating the need for a disposable first stage, though the approach remains unproven for orbital payloads and likely faces major engineering hurdles beyond current test speeds.
- Longshot Space has raised about $20 million to build a gun-based space launch system.
- Its current 70-foot test gun has launched projectiles at speeds up to Mach 4.
- The company argues it is scaling proven gun technology rather than inventing something entirely new, similar to SpaceX's approach to rockets.
Source: techcrunch.com — Tim Fernholz, 2026-10-13
Published there as: “Forget rockets — Longshot wants to fire cargo into space from a gun. See it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026”
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