Longshot Space Technology Raises $20M to Launch Cargo Using Gas-Powered Kinetic Guns

Longshot Space Technology is developing ground-based kinetic launch systems designed to shoot cargo toward space at a fraction of the cost of traditional rocketry, according to a report by TechCrunch (https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/forget-rockets-longshot-wants-to-fire-cargo-into-space-from-a-gun-see-it-at-techcrunch-disrupt-2026/). The Alameda, California-based startup has secured roughly $20 million in venture capital backing to advance its high-speed launch architecture.

Founded by Chief Executive Officer Mike Grace and Chief Technology Officer Nato Saichek, Longshot is adapting multi-injection gun concepts originally developed during World War II and tested in 1960s research programs. Rather than relying on heavy first-stage rocket boosters to clear the lower atmosphere, the system uses a horizontal steel pipe fitted with high-pressure gas tanks along its length. These tanks fire in rapid, timed succession as a projectile travels down the barrel, accelerating it up to near-hypersonic speeds before exit.

The company is currently test-firing a 70-foot-long, 6-inch-diameter gun at a facility near Barstow, California, where it has reached speeds of Mach 4. Longshot plans to test a 140-foot-long, 30-inch-diameter barrel at its Alameda site next, followed by a 328-foot structure that could eventually scale to approximately 3,000 feet. According to the company, that setup will be designed to accelerate 220-pound payloads to Mach 8.

To fund development and validate performance along the way, Longshot is executing hypersonic testing contracts for the U.S. military. Because its projectiles use lifting-body airframes that generate aerodynamic lift after exiting the barrel, the launch tubes can remain horizontally mounted on flat ground. Grace noted that systems deployed at defense installations such as Fort Bliss could provide interceptor test targets for $250,000 to $500,000 per launch, compared to roughly $30 million for conventional target vehicles.

Longshot's ultimate goal remains delivering commercial payloads into orbit. Reaching orbital trajectory will require accelerating projectiles to 5 kilometers per second (over 11,000 mph) out of a gun approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) long and nearly 10 feet in diameter, with the projectile supplying secondary onboard propulsion once aloft. If realized, Grace estimates the system could drive launch costs down to $50 per kilogram (about $22 per pound)—well below the $300-per-kilogram threshold often cited as necessary for emerging space industries like orbital data centers.