Small Launchers in a Pandemic World

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Corrections, additions, and comments are welcomed and encouraged! Small Launchers in a Pandemic World

2021 Edition of the Annual Small Launch Vehicle Survey

Carlos Niederstrasser @rocketscient1st 11 August 2021

Listing Criteria

• Have a maximum capability to LEO of 1,000 kg or less (definition of LEO left to the LV provider). • The effort must be for the development of an entire launch vehicle system (with the exception of carrier aircraft for air launch vehicles). • Mentioned through a web site update, social media, traditional media, conference paper, press release, etc. in the past 2 years. • Have a stated goal of completing a fully operational space launch (orbital) vehicle. Funded concept or feasibility studies by government agencies, patents for new launch methods, etc., do not qualify. • Expect to be widely available commercially or to the U.S. Government • Sufficient detail (technical, financial, business) to imply work in progress. Corrections, additions, and comments are welcomed and encouraged! 3 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation We did not …

… Talk to the individual companies … Rely on any proprietary/confidential information … Verify accuracy of data found in public resources – Primarily relied on companies’ web sites, press releases, public announcements, Twitter • Funding sources, when listed, are not implied to be the vehicles sole or even majority funding source.

We do not make any value judgements on technical or financial credibility or viability

Ten Operational Systems

Northrop Grumman (1990) Pegasus

Virgin Orbit (2021) Launcher One

iSpace (2019) CRCL (2019) Galactic Energy (2020) Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 Ceres 1

Northrop Grumman (2000) RocketLab (2018) CASTC (2015) CASTC (2017) ExPace (2017) 6 Minotaur I Electron Chang Zheng-11 Kaituozhe-2 Kuaizhou-1A Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation You be the Judge… What to Look for in Assessing New Vehicles

Successful Flight

Credit: Northrop Grumman Testing

Funding Credit: Space News/Rocket Lab

Equatorial Space Industries iRocket TLON Space bluShift Gloyer-Taylor Independence-X Orbex Black Arrow Agnikul Launcher HyImpulse Bellatrix LEO Launcher CubeCab OneSpace ARCA Space SpinLaunch Bagaveev PLD Space Astra Space X-bow NSIL New Rocket Interorbital Systems B2Space DCTA Brazil Deep Blue Firefly Isar Gilmour Space ESA Orbital Access CONAE InterStellar Linkspace Phoenix Launch Systems Aevum Pangea Dawn Aerospace Pangea 8 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Country of Origin

Country Count USA 22 China 9 India 4 United Kingdom 4 Argentina 2 Germany 2 Spain 2 Australia/Singapore 1 Brazil 1 Canada 1 Europe 1 France 1 Japan 1 Malaysia 1 Netherlands/New Zeland 1 Russia 1 Singapore 1 Taiwan 1 UK/Ukraine 1 USA/New Zealand 1

Varied Launch Methods

:B2Space

Colibr

Credit

Launcher Launcher One Credit: Virgin Orbit Virgin Credit:

Note: A number of vehicles have multiple launch methods

Assumptions: Lowest cost in range given Comparison: Highest performance in range given Falcon 9 (pre-flown): ~$2.8k / kg No attempt to normalize for differing definitions of LEO 12 No attempt to ensure services provided are equivalent Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Funding Sources Partial List for Illustration Purposes

Government Angel Investors / Seed Venture Capital • NASA • 500 Startups • Seraphim • USAF • StartupXseed • Khosla • DARPA • Space Angels • Huaxing Growth Capital • ESA • RedSeed • Lauder Partners • EU/Horizon 2020 • Y Combinator • Starlight Ventures • UK Space Agency • High-Tech Gründerfonds • Sequoia Capital • JAXA • Sand Hill Angels • Chun Xiao Capital

Government Development Other • Development Bank of Japan • Crowd-funding • Skolkovo • Prizes • Aabar Investments • Sergei Burkatovsky • Maine Space Grant • Gonzalo de la Peña • Gobierno de Aragon • Deepika Radukone • Saudi Arabia • Adrian Aoun 13 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Trends Since 2015

Not here in 2019

New Players New Orbital Flight Tests Significant Include … Launches • Astra General Press • Phantom Space • iSpace • TiSpace Coverage • Vaya Space • China Rocket • Skyrora • Motley Fool • Venture Orbital Company • And many more • CNBC • And many more on • Galactic Energy engine tests “watch list” • Forbes • Virgin Orbit • Wall Street Journal • Ars Technica

Status Unknown •Super Strypi • Chariot •SS-520-4 • M-OV •Bloostar • Volant •Cloud IX • Demi Sprite •Unreasonable Rocket • Landspace

Programs Canceled or Postponed •SALVO • Spacecab •Go Launcher 2 • Athena 1 •ALASA • Neutrino 1 •Spyder • Rainbow Smallsat Express •ML-1 • Stratolaunch Pegasus

Company folded •Garvey Space Corporation (incorporated into Vector) •Vector •Swiss Space Sytems •XCOR •SOAR

Acrux Space Technologies Jiuzhou Yunjian Space Mission Architects Advanced Rockets JP Aerospace Space Transportation Corporation Laros Space Vector Aerojet Rocketdyne LIA Aerospace Space Walker ARRC Massterra Space SpaceDarts Astraius Merida Aerospace SpaceRyde Avio SpA NDA Company Stoke Space Beijing Xingtu Discovery New Ascent Strato Space System Technology Onera StratoBooster Beyond Earth Orion AST Thor Launch Systems Black Sky Aerospace proximitE UP Aerospace Blue Origin Reaction Dynamics Vogue Aerospace Celestium Space Roketsan Wagner Industries Exos Aerospace SmallSpark Space Systems Firehawk Aerospace S-Motor Green Launch Space Alpha

Efforts with first flight in next 24 months* Firefly X-Box Aevum Astra/Stealth ARCA Link Space OneSpace Isar Aerospace Gilmour Space

• The new crowd of small launch vehicle incorporate a wide spectrum of propellants, launch methods, and other unique attributes that are designed to provide that winning edge over competitors. In the following summaries, we attempt to outline some of unique attributes various vehicles

Note: Not all vehicles are shown. No specific criteria were used for inclusion in the next few slides. Goal is to illustrate wide variety of new approaches. Vehicles are NOT to scale.

Cab-3A is an F-104 Starfighter air- launched vehicle with 3U capabilities from CubeCab Aventura I is a two-stage vehicle from TLON Space running on green propellants. It aims to be the lightest operational rocket in the industry with a payload Cab-3A Credit: CubeCab capability of 25 kg

Aventura I Credit: TLON Space Corp Bagaveev

Bagaveev is two-stage liquid fueled NEPTUNE N1 is a multi-stage vehicle with pressure fed 3D printed

pressure fed turpentine ground Credit: Vehicle Test engines and ground or sea launch launched vehicle with single platform with 10kg capabilities from

common core using white fuming Bagaveev Bagaveev Corporation

nitic acid oxidizer with 6 kg Systems Credit: Interorbital Neptune N1 capabilities from Interorbital Systems

Ravn X is a two-stage vehicle launched from a hypersonic aircraft. The first stage Phoenix utilizes a combination of liquid and of this rocket from Aevum uses a solid stages. The first stage is powered “plug proprietary propellant mix. cluster” aerospike engine utilizing green propellants to provide 22 kg to orbit in this vehicle from Phoenix Launch Systems

Phoenix Credit: Phoenix Launch Systems

Credit: SpinLaunch HAAS-2CA is a single stage to Ravn X Credit: Aevum orbit vehicle (SSTO) from ARCA. It features an optional water-fueled Launch Assist Stage to loft 100 kg. Electron is a two-stage LOx/kerosene ground launched vehicle using 3D printed engines with electric fuel pumps Spin Launch utilizes a with 300 kg capabilities from Rocket centrifuge/sling to accelerate its Lab. OPERATIONAL

vehicle to 4800 km/hr HAAS-2CA Credit: ARCA Electron Credit: Rocket Rocket Lab Credit: Electron

Skyrora XL is a three stage vehicle powered by hydrogen

peroxide and Kerosene. The Syrora engines for this vehicle from LauncherOne Credit: Virgin Galactic Skyrora are 3D printed to XL Credit: LauncherOne is a two stage reduce cost and increase RP-1 fueled 747 air launched reliability Skyrorar vehicle with LOx as an oxidizer with 500 kg OS-M1 is a three stage solid capabilities from Virgin Orbit. fueled launch vehicle with 205 OPERATIONAL kg capabilities from One Space Technology in China. Has had one unsuccessful orbital

attempt. II Credit: Wikipedia Credit: II Orbital 500 is an air-launched Tronador II is a ground launched 2.5 stage rocket LOx/RP-1 fueled

rocket (likely a MD-11) with Tronador M1 Credit: One Space Credit: One M1 500 kg capabilities from - first stage (sheds two engines) and Orbital Access OS hydrazine second stage with 250 kg capabilities from CONAE. Orbital 500 Credit: Orbital Access

Coriolis 500 – 1000 kg Credit: Northrop Grumman

SpaceRider is a reusable spaceplane lofted on a Vega-C rocket. Payload performance of the spaceplane is 800 kg. The vehicle is being fielded by ESA.

SpaceRider Credit: ESA

Alpha is a two-stage liquid ground launched vehicle utilizing “well- Spectrum is a ground established technology” with 1000 launched two stage rocket kg capabilities from Firefly. LOx/hydrocarbon fueled vehicle Aerospace powered by cluster of 9 Aquila Isar engines. With 1000 kg payload

Credit: Credit: capability, this vehicle from Isar Aerospace has an option for 2

fairing sizes.

Spectum Alpha Alpha Firefly Credit:

• SpaceX’s success and plentiful investor money has created “launch fever” • Small launch vehicles are attempting to capitalize on the expected explosion of constellations and CubeSats • Few current medium/large launch vehicle suppliers are participating in perceived market demand explosion (yet!)

What will 2022 hold?

• Please provide corrections, additions, and comments to: – Email: [email protected] – Twitter: @rocketscient1st