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 1 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation 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 4 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation 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 Credit: Firefly Aerospace 7 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Forty-Eight Under Development 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 9 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation How Small is Small? 10 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Varied Launch Methods i : B2Space Colibr Credit Launcher Launcher One Credit: Virgin Orbit Virgin Credit: Note: A number of vehicles have multiple launch methods 11 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Next Generation Launch Costs 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 14 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Since SmallSat ‘19 New Players and Progress … 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 15 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation …And Plenty of Heartbreak Over the Years Not a Complete List 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 16 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Fifty-Eight Additional Vehicles On the Watch List 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 Not enough information to qualify for the survey. Some are hearsay/rumors 17 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation The Next 24 Months Efforts with first flight in next 24 months* Firefly X-Box Aevum Astra/Stealth ARCA Link Space OneSpace Isar Aerospace Gilmour Space * Announced by company in the past 12 months (or implied by contract win) 18 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Launch Vehicle Individual Summaries • 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. 19 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation CubeSat Launchers MYSat-1 <20 kg Credit: Northrop Grumman/ Khalifa University 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: Neptune Interorbital N1 capabilities from Interorbital Systems 20 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Micro Launchers Orbcomm Credit: Northrop Grumman 20 – 200 kg 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 21 Copyright © 2021, Northrop Grumman Corporation Mini Launchers NuStar Credit: Northrop Grumman 200 – 500 kg 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