{"id":11336,"date":"2022-08-21T17:35:44","date_gmt":"2022-08-21T09:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/propulsion-deal-offers-boost-for-scottish-horizontal-space-launches\/"},"modified":"2022-08-21T17:35:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-21T09:35:44","slug":"propulsion-deal-offers-boost-for-scottish-horizontal-space-launches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/propulsion-deal-offers-boost-for-scottish-horizontal-space-launches\/","title":{"rendered":"Propulsion deal offers boost for Scottish horizontal space launches"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shane Clark, vice president of Astraius\u2019 engineering and program execution division, poses with models of the Astraius rocket and a C-17 cargo aircraft. Credit: Astraius<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UK-based horizontal launch company Astraius says it\u2019s on track for a first launch in spring 2024 from Prestwick Spaceport in Scotland after signing deals with two key suppliers for its innovative rocket.<\/p>\n

Northrop Grumman is to supply first and second motors and Exquadrum will provide the upper-stage motor. Northrop Grumman\u2019s Orion solid rocket motors will boost the Astraius launch vehicle after its extraction from an unmodified C-17 carrier aircraft, while Exquadrum\u2019s bespoke upper stage will place satellites in precise orbits.<\/p>\n

The Astraius rocket, with a payload capability of 800 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO), will ignite within seconds of being released via a parachute system on a cargo pallet from the back of the aircraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be a bespoke Astraius launch vehicle,\u201d said Shane Clark, vice president of the firm\u2019s engineering and program division. \u201cOur strategy is to minimise new development so, essentially, we have stitched together flight-proven components.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a new launch vehicle but it\u2019s not a brand new first stage, it\u2019s not a brand new second stage, and it probably not a brand new faring or avionics system,\u201d he explained. \u201cMost of the rocket\u2019s components will already have flight pedigree which gives assurance to both customers and the insurance market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huntsville, Alabama-based Clark told Spaceflight Now that the global reach and flexibility of the C-17 military transporter aircraft would allow Astraius to offer an industry-leading capability for small satellite launches to LEO.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not be confined to a spaceport or by the weather in the same way that vertical launchers are,\u201d he added. \u201cWith horizontal launch wherever that customer wants to go, we will fly to that optimum launch point over water and put them into exactly the right inclination.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf, for example if you\u2019re on the West Coast of California you cannot launch into an elliptical orbit because you can\u2019t launch east. Conversely, if you\u2019re in Florida typically you\u2019re not going to be able to get to a polar orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n

While launching a dozen rockets per year each carrying a 800 kg satellite would be an ideal scenario, Clark said the prime market would most likley be for the launch of cubesats in a wide variety of different configurations, either for single or multiple customers.<\/p>\n

Announcing the tie up with Northrop Grumman and Exquadrum at last month\u2019s Farnborough International Airshow, Astraius chairman Sir George Zambellas said: \u201cThis is a hugely exciting moment for Astraius. We have a winning combination of proven launch and propulsion systems paired with exquisite rocket motor technology to produce a world-class capability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Mahaffy, CEO of Exquadrum, said: \u201cWe are excited to be part of the outstanding team that Astraius has put together to bring their unique horizontal launch vehicle to market. Exquadrum\u2019s controllable solid rocket motor technology, with its throttlability and precise termination ability, is an excellent fit for Astraius\u2019 upper stage application.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astraius is building two cleanrooms at Prestwick Spaceport\u2019s new \u00a323 million facility, meaning two rockets and their payloads can be processed simultaneously, giving the option of flying a second mission within hours of the first.<\/p>\n

Astraius will base its launch and range operations in the UK at Scotland\u2019s  Prestwick Spaceport, which will provide all necessary ground-based requirements in bespoke, state-of-the-art facilities under an agreement signed in September 2021.<\/p>\n

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster aircraft was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. It is widely used by air forces around the world for long range, heavy-lift strategic military transport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shane Clark, vice president of Astraius\u2019 engineering and program execution division, poses with models of the Astraius rocket and a C-17 cargo aircraft. Credit: Astraius UK-based horizontal launch company Astraius says it\u2019s on track for a first launch in spring 2024 from Prestwick Spaceport in Scotland after signing deals with two key suppliers for its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11336"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}