Slingatron

This is a scale model of the 'mechanical hypervelocity launcher' a Virginia company wants to build to sling payloads into orbit. The rail spiral, 200-300 meters wide, would be elevated on pylons containing motors to accelerate the payloads, which would be prepared nearby. (HyperV Technologies Corp. image)

CHANTILLY, Virginia - What you would sling into space if you had a relatively low-cost way to put a few hundred pounds in orbit? It can't be a person - the forces involved are too great - so that rules out yourself or the guy next door blaring Lady Ga Ga at midnight. That new desktop with the Windows 8 operating system is definitely an option, however.

A Virginia company called

knows there are better answers to the question, including water, food and building supplies future astronauts will need. It's trying to raise money to scale-up a device it's sure can hurl all kinds of useful stuff into space.

the company has already built several small ones, and it's now

to build a bigger model.

How does it work? Think of David's sling that spun up the speed to throw the rock that killed Goliath. Imagine a sling that won't break and a motor to spin that string really fast. Now, imagine a covered, spiral railroad instead of a string. Spin that rail track fast enough and acceleration-multiplier effects kick in. You can reach low-Earth orbit altitude velocity this way, the company says, although you will need a small rocket motor to put the payload into proper circular orbit. The company has raised $12,500 of its $250,000 goal so far with 22 days left to go.