Company:Launcher
Launcher was an American aerospace company based in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in New York City in 2017 by Max Haot.[1]
In February 2019 the company presented it's E-2 engine, which was made in Germany by AMCM using its specialized M4K printer.[2] The engine uses liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants.[3] The company's Launcher Light rocket was designed to carry payloads of up to 150 kg to low Earth orbit.[4]
In November 2019 the US Air Force awarded the company $1.5 million to accelerate development and testing of its E-2 rocket engine.[5]
In March 2021 Launcher moved its headquarters from New York to a 24,000-square-foot building in Hawthorne, California.[6][7]
In February 2023 Launcher was acquired by Vast, a startup company developing artificial gravity space stations, with Max Haot becoming Vast's president.[8]
Orbiter
The company has developed an orbital transfer vehicle named Orbiter that uses ethane and nitrous oxide as propellants for use as the third stage of the canceled Light rocket, or for use on other launch vehicles.[9] In June 2021, the company raised $11.7 million in a Series-A round of funding to accelerate the development of its first orbital vehicle.[10] Orbiter is compatible with both Launcher Light and SpaceX Falcon rideshare flights.[11]
SN1, Orbiter's first mission was launched on January 3, 2023 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on SpaceX's Falcon 9 Transporter-6 rideshare flight, transporting payload from eight customers.[12][13] SN1 failed shortly after deployment, with all but one customer payloads lost.[14]
Following Vast's acquisition of Launcher the Orbiter program was discontinued, with the company now focusing on the development of the E-2 liquid rocket engine.[15]
Missions
| Mission | Date | Launch vehicle | Payload | Customer | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SN1 | January 3, 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 |  MDQSAT-1A, 1B
|
Innova Space | Failure |
 USA PROVES – Yearling
|
Cal Poly Pomona | ||||
| Sapling-1
|
Stanford Student Space Initiative | ||||
 Unicorn-2G, 2H
|
Alba Orbital | ||||
 ?
|
NPC Spacemind | ||||
| SAVER (hosted)
|
TRL11 | ||||
| Shooting Star Memorial (hosted)
|
Beyond Burials | ||||
 ? (hosted)
|
Logitech Mevo | ||||
| SN3 | June 12, 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 | MDQSAT-1C, 1D
|
Innova Space | Partial failure |
| Otter Pup
|
Starfish Space | ||||
| Pleiades-Squared
|
Cal Poly Pomona | ||||
| Nightingale 1 (hosted)
|
CesiumAstro | ||||
| TRL11-SN3-Demo (hosted)
|
TRL11 | ||||
| Remora (hosted)
|
Millennium Space Systems | ||||
| SN4 | October 2023[16] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Canceled | ||
| SN5 | January 2024[16] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Canceled |
See also
- List of private spaceflight companies
- Relativity Space
- Isar Aerospace
- Rocket Factory Augsburg AG
- Vector Launch
- Orbex
- Skyrora
- PLD Space
- Radian Aerospace
References
- ↑ "Meet Launcher, the rocket engine builder with just eight employees". November 9, 2020. https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/11/meet-launcher-a-company-building-a-rocket-engine-with-eight-employees/.
- ↑ "Rocket start-up Launcher gets largest single piece 3D printed engine". February 20, 2019. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/20/brooklyn-rocket-start-up-launcher-gets-largest-single-piece-3d-printed-engine.html.
- ↑ "Rocket Report: SpaceX set for second crew launch, Chinese firm reaches orbit". November 13, 2020. https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/11/rocket-report-spacex-set-for-second-crew-launch-chinese-firm-reaches-orbit/.
- ↑ Tyrrell, Michael (September 6, 2021). "Launcher expands rocket engine part additive manufacturing – Aerospace Manufacturing" (in en). https://aero-mag.com/3d-printing-rockets-06092021.
- ↑ "Air Force funding keeps Launcher development on track". November 14, 2019. https://spacenews.com/launcher-af-pitch-award/.
- ↑ Foust, Jeff (March 26, 2021). "Launcher opens California facility to develop small launch vehicle" (in en-US). https://spacenews.com/launcher-opens-california-facility-to-develop-small-launch-vehicle/.
- ↑ Berger, Eric (June 2, 2021). "Launcher raises $11 million, ramps up hiring for 2024 flight" (in en-us). https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/06/launcher-raises-11-million-ramps-up-hiring-for-2024-flight/.
- ↑ Foust, Jeff (February 21, 2023). "Vast acquires Launcher to support space station development". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/vast-acquires-launcher-to-support-space-station-development/.
- ↑ "Launcher buys additional SpaceX rideshare missions". February 7, 2022. https://spacenews.com/launcher-buys-additional-spacex-rideshare-missions/.
- ↑ "Launcher raises $11 million, ramps up hiring for 2024 flight". June 2, 2021. https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/06/launcher-raises-11-million-ramps-up-hiring-for-2024-flight/.
- ↑ "Launcher's Orbiter with multiple metal AM components set for SpaceX rideshare" (in en-GB). June 21, 2021. https://www.metal-am.com/launchers-orbiter-with-multiple-metal-am-components-set-for-spacex-rideshare/.
- ↑ Lentz, Danny (January 3, 2023). "SpaceX rings in 2023 with Transporter-6 rideshare mission". NASASpaceFlight. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/01/spacex-transporter-6/.
- ↑ Foust, Jeff (May 16, 2022). "Launcher announces customers for first Orbiter space tug mission" (in en-US). https://spacenews.com/launcher-announces-customers-for-first-orbiter-space-tug-mission/.
- ↑ "Orbiter SN1 Mission Update". Launcher. February 16, 2023. https://www.launcherspace.com/updates/orbiter-sn1-mission-update.
- ↑ "Launcher was acquired by Vast in February 2023.". Launcher. https://www.launcherspace.com/.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Orbiter – Schedule". Launcher. https://www.launcherspace.com/orbiter.
External links
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