{"id":2346,"date":"2023-04-10T12:18:29","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T12:18:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=2346"},"modified":"2023-04-10T12:18:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T12:18:29","slug":"in-booming-satellite-market-micro-rockets-are-the-next-big-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2346\/in-booming-satellite-market-micro-rockets-are-the-next-big-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"In booming satellite market, micro-rockets are the next big thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

More and more miniature satellites are being launched every year, driving up demand for smaller rockets.<\/p>\n

By<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0GARETH WILLMER<\/p>\n

Contemporary life would hardly be possible without satellites. Much of what people do on Earth today relies heavily on what\u2019s happening high above their heads \u2013 from monitoring wildfires, deforestation and sea-surface temperatures to enabling connections to new mobile technologies like 5G in hard-to-reach areas.<\/p>\n

A recent wave of cheaper, miniature satellites being sent into low orbits of 500 to 1 000 kilometres above Earth by the likes of Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX and UK-based OneWeb signals a growing trend.<\/p>\n

Less is more<\/strong><\/p>\n

With some tracking the globe\u2019s whole landmass and providing unprecedented detail, these satellites can be the size of a shoebox or even smaller.\u00a0More than 2 500<\/a>\u00a0of them are expected to be launched each year on average over the next decade.<\/p>\n

To reach space economically, small satellites often need to rideshare on large rockets. Developing smaller rockets could allow faster, more personalised access to space, opening up the market to a wider range of specialist providers.<\/p>\n

\u2018Small satellites can travel on big launch vehicles, but there are problems like time to orbit because you need to book a slot far in advance and going exactly where your satellites need to go,\u2019 said Xavier Llair\u00f3, chief commercial officer and co-founder of Pangea Aerospace in Barcelona, Spain. \u2018The companies launching these, need tailored access to space.\u2019<\/p>\n

The EU-funded\u00a0RRTB<\/a>\u00a0project led by Pangea has been investigating cost-effective ways to put small rockets that can carry up to 500 kilogrammes of cargo into space. The hope is to have an engine ready for flight by 2025.<\/p>\n

The key is to find ways to reuse these microlaunchers by minimising the impact they undergo on re-entry into Earth\u2019s atmosphere and by enabling them to land safely. This would also be more environmentally friendly than using launchers just once.<\/p>\n

\u2018Through reuse, you can lower investment, use fewer production means and have higher launch frequency,\u2019 said Llair\u00f3.<\/p>\n

At the moment, Europe lacks a proven method for doing this, according to RRTB, which ends this month after three years.<\/p>\n

First section<\/strong><\/p>\n

RRTB has focused on reusing the first section \u2013 or stage \u2013 of the rocket, located at its base. This section provides most of the thrust straight after launch, before detaching and falling back to Earth, often into the ocean. With a lighter load, the rocket\u2019s other stages press on to take their cargo into orbit.<\/p>\n

But the first stage can be damaged during its high-speed descent back through Earth\u2019s atmosphere and also by seawater. The difficulties and costs of retrieving and returning the rocket to the launch site may be more trouble than it\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n

\u2018When they fall into the sea, it makes reusability very, very hard,\u2019 said Llair\u00f3.<\/p>\n

The answer is to find a way for the first stage to re-enter Earth\u2019s atmosphere safely and land at a docking base near the launch site or on a floating barge, according to Llair\u00f3.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the design of the rocket needs to allow it to carry a payload big enough to make the operation economically viable.<\/p>\n

To find ways to reduce the damage to micro-launchers during re-entry into Earth\u2019s atmosphere and landing, the RRTB team has tested a scaled-down model of a small rocket in a wind tunnel.<\/p>\n

The ideal goal for smaller launchers, according to Llair\u00f3, is to avoid the engines firing up for re-entry. That would allow launchers to transport a larger initial payload by reducing the weight of fuel they need to carry.<\/p>\n

New nozzle<\/strong><\/p>\n

The team struggled when the rocket had a traditional bell-shaped nozzle around its engine, but found more promise with a cone shape. This \u201caerospike\u201d nozzle helps spread heat in a way that lessens the pummelling the vehicle takes.<\/p>\n

\u2018It makes it smoother to penetrate the atmosphere,\u2019 said Llair\u00f3. \u2018This is not only valid for small launch vehicles but also for larger ones. It was an unexpected finding because we were not initially looking for this.\u2019<\/p>\n

While aerospikes also burn less fuel than conventional engines, Llair\u00f3 said these benefits until now have been offset by the complexities and costs in engineering them, including difficulties with cooling. Nonetheless, techniques like 3D printing \u2013 which is being harnessed by Pangea \u2013 are making them more viable.<\/p>\n

\u2018Aerospike technology will change how we access space and how we come back to Earth,\u2019 said Llair\u00f3. \u2018It is a major enabler for rocket reusability.\u2019<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, he said, the engine that the team plans to use will rely on bio-sourced methane as a propellant.<\/p>\n

The quest is also on to make individual rocket parts more reusable, for example with aluminium-based material for the fuel tanks.<\/p>\n

\u2018You need to land most rockets safely and reuse as many of their components as possible to make things economically viable,\u2019 said Llair\u00f3.<\/p>\n

Primed for launch<\/strong><\/p>\n

While RRTB has focused on rocket reusability, aerospace company Orbex in the UK is preparing to debut its own lightweight, eco friendly, microlauncher.<\/p>\n

Under the EU-funded\u00a0PRIME<\/a>\u00a0project, Orbex in May last year unveiled a prototype of its 19-metre-long rocket\u00a0\u2013 set to be Europe\u2019s first full-orbital microlauncher for small satellites.<\/p>\n

The rocket is also designed to be reusable through recovery of parts that don\u2019t burn up in the atmosphere. While the firm is not yet revealing how it will do this, a spokesperson for Orbex said the method would be \u2018completely novel\u2019.<\/p>\n

The company hopes the Prime rocket can undertake its first launch this year, pending certain prerequisites including the granting of a launch licence.<\/p>\n

\u2018We have already sold a number of launch slots to commercial satellite providers, but have yet to announce the date of our inaugural launch,\u2019 said Orbex Chief Executive Officer Chris Larmour. He was also coordinator of PRIME, which ran for three years through June 2022.<\/p>\n

Greener rocket<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rocket will use clean biopropane fuel formed as an additional product in the creation of biodiesel, which is made from sources like waste vegetable oils and used cooking oil.<\/p>\n

This will be combined with liquid oxygen, a \u2018\u2018cryogenic propellant\u2019\u2019 \u2013 a gas chilled to sub-freezing temperature and condensed into highly combustible liquid.<\/p>\n

Through these measures, the rocket could\u00a0lower carbon emissions by up to 96%<\/a>\u00a0compared with similar-sized fossil-fuel-powered launch vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u2018Orbex Prime is set to be the world\u2019s most environmentally friendly space rocket, powered by a renewable biofuel,\u2019 said Larmour.<\/p>\n

The fuel tanks are made from carbon fibre, which combines high strength with low weight.<\/p>\n

Orbex estimates that Prime weighs about 30% less than traditional launchers, enabling the type of higher efficiency and performance crucial for small satellites. Furthermore, the rocket is designed to leave zero debris on Earth and in orbit.<\/p>\n

At its spaceport in Sutherland on Scotland\u2019s northern coast, the company expects to be able to launch up to 12 rockets a year. The port is also expected to be carbon-neutral in its construction and operation.<\/p>\n

Its relative proximity to Glasgow will help capitalise on the area\u2019s burgeoning space industry, with the city producing more satellites than anywhere else in Europe. Orbex believes this will offer the right setup to help the region\u2019s players get airborne.<\/p>\n

\u2018The satellite industry and its requirement for launchers that can put satellites into specific orbits has grown in recent years and continues to grow exponentially,\u2019 said Larmour. \u2018This creates a huge demand for dedicated and sustainable launches.\u2019<\/p>\n

Research in this article was funded by the EU. The article was originally published\u202fin <\/em>Horizon<\/em><\/a>, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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