In his annual survey of small launch vehicles, Carlos Niederstrasser of Northrop Grumman says the survey is now tracking 166 vehicles, up very slightly from the year before. However, the number of vehicles in development has been going down since the high of the 2020 survey. Notably though, it appears small launch vehicles are on track to launching once a month, a marked improvement.
Carlos Niederstrasser provided the small launch vehicles update of the survey at the Small Satellite Conference in Logan, Utah last week.
He stressed the survey only contains small launch vehicles that he is aware of. As well, he does not talk to the companies directly, but rather relies on publicly available information and from individuals who send him information. So companies that are under wraps aren’t included. As well, information on the status of the small launch vehicles must include updates in the past two years or they are moved to the defunct category. And note, the maximum capacity of the vehicles to low Earth orbit (LEO) must not exceed 1,000 kg to be included.
The chart above shows the growth of the small launcher market between 2015-2022 which are divided into five categories.
- Operational – The vehicle has conducted a successful first flight and more flights are planned.
- Active – The vehicle meets the criteria set out in this paper for inclusion
- Watch – The vehicle has the potential to meet the criteria for inclusion, but it is currently just a “paper study” or not enough information is publicly known.
- Unknown – The vehicle was either active or on the watch list in a previous survey but no updates have been seen in two or three years.
- Defunct – The vehicle development has been cancelled or the company developing it has disbanded.
The number of vehicles tracked has risen from 31 in 2015 to 166 in 2022.
Operational small launch vehicles
At the time the survey was concluded there were 11 operational vehicles. However, during his presentation Niederstrasser mentioned that Astra’s Rocket 3.3 launch vehicle would need to be removed as the company had just announced it was retiring the launch vehicle in favour of larger one.
All of the operational small launch vehicles are either in China or the US/New Zealand (Rocket Lab). The chart below outlines the operational vehicles and their success and failures.
Small launch vehicles under development
The survey lists 49 vehicles under development and 47 vehicles being watched. Of those under development there are several that have announced their intention to launch to orbit within 24 months and have contracts.
They include:
- X-Bow Launch Systems Inc. (USA) – This DARPA funded startup offers “a revolutionary American space technology company focused on 3D printed energetics, announced today that it has exited stealth mode. X-Bow (pronounced “cross-bow”) brings to market its solid fuel rocket motors, along with a suite of small launch vehicles for both orbital and suborbital launch services.”
- Aevum Inc. (USA) – Their Ravn X launch vehicle is an artificial intelligence powered autonomous reusable launch system. Aevum has booked its first USAF customer for RavnX and has also entered the vehicle into the OSP-4 procurement. The two-stage vehicle is launched from a hypersonic drone aircraft and can deliver a satellite to space 78 times faster than any other launch vehicle. The first stage uses a proprietary propellant while the second stage utilizes LOx and Jet-A fuel.
- ARCA Space (USA) – Arca Space Corporation’s (ARCA) Haas 2C launch vehicle is a two-stage rocket powered by LOx/RP-1 engines. Haas 2C originally was conceived as a SSTO testbed for the new engine, but has since been modified to be two stages in order to carry a payload. Some versions of the Hass 2C utilize a linear aerospike engine. More recently, ARCA has proposed utilizing a Launch Assist Stage that uses water steam as a propellant.
- Linkspace (China) – Linkspace is one of several Chinese companies claiming to be the first purely commercial Chinese launch provider. It’s NewLine-1 is a two-stage vehicle powered by RP-1 and Lox with a reusable first stage. The company has conducted a number of hover flights with sub-scale testing vehicles and noted that they are developing all the critical technology in-house.
- OneSpace Technology (China) – OneSpace Technology is developing the all- solid three stage OS-M1. This launch vehicle is land launch and aims to implement a wide range of innovations, although the details have not been disclosed by the company. OneSpace attempted an orbital launch of the OS-M1 in 2019 but the flight resulted in a failure.
- Isar Aerospace (Germany) – The Spectrum from Isar Aerospace will offer 2 fairing sizes to accommodate a variety of customers. It is a two-stage rocket powered by nine Isar Aerospace “Aquila” engines utilizing LOx/hydrocarbon propellants.
- Gilmour Space (Australia/Singapore) – Rocket engine developer Gilmour Space Technologies is hoping to expand its business into full suborbital and orbital launch vehicles. The Eris is a three stage rocket utilizing hybrid propulsion. Unique to its propulsion technology is hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizer combined with a proprietary high ISP fuel that will be 3D printed.
Canadian small launch vehicles
Three Canadian companies are included in the survey. Two are listed as in development, Reaction Dynamics and C6 Launch Systems, while SpaceRyde is now listed under the watch list. The report offers no new information on the Canadian entrants. However, we’ll an update on their efforts soon.