Edmonton’s Space Engine Systems (SES) has achieved a milestone in their quest to become a player in hypersonic propulsion. The company was named as one of ninety potential vendors for the UK’s Hypersonic Technologies and Capability Development Framework, a £1 billion (CAD $1.74 billion) program intended to develop the United Kingdom’s hypersonic missile capabilities.
While this may seem like a departure for Space Engine Systems, whose focus has been on single-stage-to-orbit spaceplanes, it represents a logical evolution for both President and CTO Pradeep Dass and Business Development Manager (Government and Defence) John Weaver, who joined SES in August of 2023. Weaver brings over 30 years of experience working at the Department of National Defence including just under five years as the Ottawa Centre Director at Defence Research and Development Canada.
SpaceQ got in touch with SES, and both Dass and Weaver provided some insights into the situation.
Space Engine Systems
As mentioned in previous SpaceQ coverage, Space Engine Systems’ primary focus has always been on developing a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane. The kind of spacecraft that SES is developing—which uses Horizontal Take off and Landing (HOTOL) to launch from a runway, fly through the atmosphere, and accelerate to orbit—is quite a bit more ambitious. In order to make it work, you need an engine that can work at both low and high speeds, using both normal air and a liquid oxidizer. Creating that kind of engine is a daunting task for any company, and so one of SES’ biggest focuses has been the development of their DASS GNX Turbo Ramjet engine, which will help to prove their technology and approach.
In reply to a question about the engine, Dass said that “DASS GNX is complete” and is awaiting integration with an airframe for testing. They are “building one technology demonstrator vehicle, known as the Hello-1X, to go from subsonic to supersonic and then to hypersonic.” They expect challenges, but are “trying to mitigate every risk and challenge which is known to us,” with an eye to further testing and building of the spaceplane. The company is also relying on proven technology wherever possible; Dass often says in interviews that a key motto at SES is “do not reinvent the wheel.”
The UK Hypersonic Technologies & Capability Development Framework
In the meantime, though, the company is looking to find other clients for its technology. Dass said that “it was realized early on that, to bring in cash flow, we have to do various spin-off technologies,” especially in technologies that Weaver described as “fully complementary to the development of the spaceplane.”
Weaver said that the Framework is a “two-stage procurement process to develop an eight-lot framework that had as its aim to identify sources of hypersonic technology available to the UK government.” The UK government put out a call in December of 2023 for companies to express interest, with an eye to selecting companies for the bidding process. Instead of focusing on getting large bids from large companies, Weaver said, the key idea for the Framework is to solicit bids from companies that specialize in “different technology elements necessary in building a hypersonic cruise missile.” That allowed specialized small and medium-sized companies (like SES) to put in bids “even if a company does not have all the expertise to build the entire missile.”
James Cartlidge, UK Minister for Defence Procurement, was quoted in Breaking Defense as saying “Hypersonics will be a landmark capability of the future and it is essential we keep pace with the developments of our adversaries.”
SES has a subsidiary in the UK, and Dass said that the subsidiary “became aware of the UK MoD’s Hypersonic [Framework] in 2023.” Weaver said that since the “core of our expertise—propulsion systems—can be used to support both mission sets,” it made sense to join the process. Weaver emphasized that “the aerodynamic, thermal and structural principles are the same” for the spaceplane and the missile,” and that “the difference between the hypersonic missile and the spaceplane is largely a matter of physical size and weight, with the spaceplane being much heavier and larger.”
After the applications were complete, the UK eventually selected 90 companies, including SES, who were all then asked to put in ongoing bids related to their technology specialties.
“An Unprecedented Pace”
Weaver said that the UK government is moving at “an unprecedented pace for government procurement,” explaining that the first “mini-competition” calling for bids was issued in May, with only four weeks for companies to prepare their bids. Contracts will be awarded at the end of June, and SES is waiting to see if their bid will be accepted.
Whether this bid or not is accepted, they will have many other opportunities; Weaver said that the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will be issuing mini-competitions “monthly to bimonthly.”
Considering it’s a UK procurement program, it may be surprising that a Canadian tech startup is involved. Weaver said that it is SES’s “UK operations, Space Engine Systems Ltd, that is bidding for the UK MoD contracts within the Hypersonic Framework,” and that the UK Ministry of Defence is “fully supportive” of reachback and technology transfer to the company’s Canadian parent.
They’ve also taken on three key international partners for the Framework bids. In the UK, they’re Meridian Space Command in Leicester, who will be providing mission planning support; and Graphene Innovations Manchester (GIM), who will be helping SES with the graphene nanoparticle coatings used in the DASS GNX engine. An American company, Applied Systems Engineering Inc, will also be working with SES on the missile technology bids.
Outside of the UK process, SES is still working on its Hello-1X spaceplane technology demonstrator, and Weaver said that GIM will now be helping them with the demonstrator. Weaver and Dass said that they are also “meeting with long lead time item suppliers for items such as the rocket engines which will be procured for the Hello-1 spaceplane,” as well as “finalizing the location in the US where SES will operate from.”
They said that they’re also looking for investors, and are “going in for a private placement at $ 260 million USD and selling 25 % of the company at this valuation.” That said, they’re aiming to remain privately held, so that they can “focus on the product and get it to flight as quickly as possible.”