Rocket Startups Craft Bespoke Launchers to Join New Space
Race
By Alexander Michael Pearson and William Wilkes
March 31, 2021, 12:00 AM EDT
German firms planning
boutique services to challenge SpaceX
Micro-launchers
provide extra flexibility at a higher cost
That’s the view of rocket startups Isar Aerospace Technologies GmbH, Rocket
Factory Augsburg AG and HyImpulse Technologies GmbH. The three firms, all
based in southern Germany, are betting clients will pay a premium to use
their so-called micro-launchers, gaining flexibility in transporting the tiny
satellites set to revolutionize global communications.
Each is developing rockets capable of carrying between
500 and 1,500 kilos (3,300 pounds) into low Earth orbit. While that’s a
fraction of the tens of thousands of kilos hauled by the Falcon 9, operated by
Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., it’s enough to transport the satellites now being
deployed for everything from super-fast Internet to autonomous driving.
The trade-off is cost. SpaceX has been able to win market
share -- including a possible deal with with carmaker Volkswagen AG -- by
designing reusable rockets that bring down the price of each mission. But the
three startups reckon surging demand for launches coupled with an initial lack
of capacity will allow boutique services to thrive alongside established
players.
“It’s like the difference
between taking a bus or a taxi,” says Christian Schmierer, founder of
HyImpulse, which plans to charge 7,000 euros ($8,217) per kilo of payload,
more than 2 1/2 times SpaceX’s $2,700. “A bus is cheaper, but a taxi is more
convenient and will get you to your destination quicker.”
Broadband satellites are set to drive at least half the
growth that will see space-industry revenue almost triple to $1 trillion by
2040, according to Morgan Stanley. The launcher market should double in
size to $26 billion by 2027,
researchers from Fortune Business Insights estimate.
Isar Aerospace expects clients to pay a premium for the
convenience of its 1,000-kilo capacity Spectrum, which like other
micro-launchers is less than half the height of a 230-foot Falcon 9. After its maiden
blast-off in early 2022, the Munich-based firm is targeting a fee of 8,500
euros a kilo.
“Customers can book
their satellite tickets at any time with maximum flexibility,” said founder and
chief Daniel Metzler. Investors such as Lakestar, UVC Partners, Vsquared
Ventures and Earlybird Venture Capital have provided Isar with a combined 90
million euros over the past two years.
An hour’s drive from Munich, Rocket Factory Augsburg
founders Stefan Brieschenk and Joern Spurmann aim to cut charges to 5,000
euros per kilo of payload by incorporating ready-made parts from
Germany’s network of automotive suppliers, shrinking component costs by a
factor of ten.
The lower price point would make the RFA One launcher more
competitive with the SpaceX Falcon. Unlike SpaceX, which flies to set
altitudes, RFA, along with its German rivals, will give customers more choice
over the level at which their satellite is deployed.
“We want to be the shovel
in the gold rush,” Spurmann said in an interview. “Everyone who needs to
put something into space is a potential customer.”
Space Odyssey
The global market for satellite launches seen growing over
the next decades
Flexible Launches
In Neuenstadt am Kocher, about 100 miles to the northwest,
HyImpulse’s Schmierer says he doesn’t see small launchers ever competing with
SpaceX in scale or pricing as he works toward the first test of the company’s
SL1 rocket, designed to carry 500 kilos, in 2023.
Hendrik Brandis, co-founder of Isar investor Earlybird, says
they don’t need to, and that the Spectrum model will make money even at a
customer fee of $10,000 per kilo.
“If we get launch prices down to that, we feel safe,” he
said.“Commercial success will be guaranteed.”
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