From CAD design to test-fire

By Velo3D Inc.

Humankind launched the first orbital satellite in October 1957. Sixty-five years later, more than 5,000 satellites are in service, with roughly half placed into low Earth orbit over the past two years. Much but not all of this activity comes courtesy of entrepreneur Elon Musk, whose SpaceX-launched satellite internet constellation Starlink soon will account for at least half the objects circling the planet.

“We don’t think this rapid growth is an anomaly,” said Max Haot, founder and CEO of Launcher Inc., an aerospace firm in Hawthorne, California. “We think it’s the beginning of what’s to come. In fact, we believe there will be hundreds of thousands of small satellites in orbit within the next decade.”

He plans to be a big part of what he refers to as a small-satellite revolution. This year, his company will leverage SpaceX’s Smallsat Rideshare Program to carry Launcher’s Orbiter satellite transfer vehicle and platform into space, where the vehicle will deploy up to 400 kg (882 lbs.) worth of CubeSats and other small satellites per mission and precisely place them into whatever orbit their owners desire. And beginning in 2024, the company will offer its own launch service, Launcher Light, which is a liquid-fueled rocket measuring 15.2 m (49.9′) long and 1.1 m (3.6′) in diameter that will carry 150 kg (331 lbs.) and 105 kg (231 lbs.) payloads into low Earth orbit and sun-synchronous orbit, respectively.

Launcher’s Orbiter satellite transfer vehicle and platform, which is powered by 3D-printed engines, first will hitch a ride with SpaceX this fall. In 2024, the Launcher Light rocket independently will boost Orbiter into space to launch satellites on its own. Image courtesy of Launcher

Orbiter is the top end of the rocket’s three-stage design, Haot explained, and was supposed to be the last part of the vehicle to be developed. But when Hawthorne-based SpaceX, which formally is known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., announced in early 2020 that it would begin selling payload space on its Falcon 9 rocket, he and the Launcher team realized they could make their satellite deployment system compatible with it and other launch platforms. They decided to fast-track that part of the project.

“Seeing an opportunity to give our customers the best of both worlds, we brought Orbiter to the head of the line,” he said. “At the same time, we continue our work on the Launcher Light’s mechanical structures, the fairing and, perhaps most importantly, the engine, all in preparation for its first commercial flight in 2024. So it’s been a very exciting year, with 80% of the organization’s manufacturing capability focused on building our first Orbiter, which is flying in October of this year.”

The goal of all this of course is to make satellite deployment both easier and more affordable. Between the Rideshare program and the Orbiter transfer vehicle, the startup firm soon will be able to place payloads into customized orbits for a little more than $8,000 per kilogram.

“These ride shares occur every three months, but if SpaceX’s timing or trajectory does not meet our customers’ requirements, we’ll also have a premium launch service through our Launcher Light offering,” Haot said. “Either way, these services come at a price tag that’s unprecedented in the space industry.”