Despite 2020’s many challenges, Pradeep Dass and his team at Space Engine Systems (SES) have barely slowed down. Dass said in an interview with SpaceQ that 2020 has actually been their busiest year so far and that work on their single-stage-to-orbit horizontal take-off and landing aircraft is making progress.
As mentioned before in our SES profile, their current objective is to produce and test two supersonic/hypersonic engines: the air breathing DASS GN1 engine suitable for terrestrial applications, and the DASS GNX engine which adds an additional stage that works as a rocket using liquid oxygen and hydrogen. It enables horizontal take-off and landing (HTOL) for a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) aircraft.
Dass stated they had performed a successful completed a ground test of the complete DASS GN1 engine up to Mach 5. He also stated he and his team have a new goal: to have an unmanned aircraft with two DASS GN1 engines and a supplementary rocket engine reach an altitude of 32 kilometres and a speed of Mach 5, and to complete the test by 2023. If they can, they want to put it in low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Dass said in the interview that “I have told my various teams not to look for ROI, but just focus on the timeline and the product’s reliability.” He repeated it again and again. Clearly, everything is bent towards making this happen on time.
This all sounds like science fiction, yet Dass remains practical. He maintains that “we’re just a transportation company,” and that their company is focused on slashing the cost of delivering payloads to space. Dass said that SpaceX’s current cost to LEO of $2800 per kg is a “starting point.” If their SSTO/HTOL project works, he believes their cost to LEO would be less than $950 per kg.
Canadian company with International support
Some Canadian industry members are interested and sympathetic. Several industry engineers we’d spoken with were keeping an eye on SES, with Adam Trumpour of Launch Canada saying he appreciated how SES was “taking a fairly broad approach, working on technologies like precooling and nanoparticle injection, and looking at applications outside of just SSTO.”
Through their private stock offerings with Labarge Weinstein, SES also reached a $120 million valuation after their self reported successful engine test. They have already found buyers for slightly less than 15% of the company. Dass said that he’s still looking to find other buyers, though he’s committed to retaining principal ownership of his company.
Despite that, SES has seen very little Canadian institutional or governmental support. Dass admits to some frustration that Canadian institutions have still been of little help to SES. He’s sought out institutional and governmental partners here in Canada, yet they’ve come up empty-handed.
So while Dass is committed to remaining in Canada, he’s had to look outside Canada for support.
He’s had some international successes. On January 9, 2020, SES signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Spaceport Cornwall, the United Kingdom’s first horizontal launch facility. It features one of the UK’s longest runways, rocket and propulsion testing facilities, hanger facilities, and access to clear airspace. After the deal is complete, and Spaceport Cornwall has passed any regulatory hurdles, SES will be able to use their runway and facilities to test and launch their aircraft.
They’ve also received American assistance. SES is working with Spaceport Florida to set up ground and launch facilities, including a hardened aircraft building. They’re in preliminary talks regarding a third launch location, though Dass couldn’t disclose where. They’ve found allies that are helping them to get FAA approvals and other regulatory approvals for 2023, and have made a deal with an undisclosed American company that will supply them with the rocket engine to go with the air-breathing GN1 engines on their test vehicle.
A custom aircraft and a tough deadline
With launching and testing facilities available, SES has turned to their other task: custom-building the fighter-sized aircraft they’ll be using for the 2023 testing.
Suiting SES’s eclectic approach, this includes both off-the-shelf and custom-made technologies. They’re preparing to manufacture the titanium alloy airframe, but are also (in Dass’ words) busily “scavenging” like landing gear and avionics. He said they’re also working on resolving re-entry heat issues using a combination of a proven heat-shield coating and active transpiration cooling — the same technology that SpaceX had originally planned to use for Starship.
Will they make their deadline? Perhaps. There are challenges. Dass cited COVID travel restrictions as having made it difficult to work with their international allies and partners. SES needs more personnel — they just posted up fourteen new long-term engineering positions — and especially needs American hires due to American export regulations.
Still, Dass believes they can make it by 2023, perhaps even including the LEO test. They say that they’ve proven that the engine works. They’ve found testing and launch sites. They’ve secured some funding, and are getting the technology they need. As Dass repeatedly says, “we’re focused on the timeline and the product, not the ROI.”