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b_b · 889 days ago · link · · parent · post: SpinLaunch conducts first test of suborbital accelerator at Spaceport America
Uh, yeah. These days every UC is programmed to go to low speed to sense the balancing before it ramps up. From what I understand there were many lab incidents that led to those engineering changes. Even if no one gets hurt, you're still out $80k when you have to buy a new machine, because user error voids the warranty.My mother used to point out the patched hole in the ceiling at one of her labs where a grad student loaded up an ultracentrifuge without a counterweight. I guess it was easier to do in the '60s.