ESA awards funding to four European launch startups
BREMEN, Germany — The European Space Agency is providing additional funding to four launch vehicle startups to help them with testing of their vehicles.
ESA announced Nov. 19 that it is extending contracts with HyImpulse, Isar Aerospace, Orbex and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) worth a combined 44.22 million euros ($46.7 million) through its “Boost!” program to assist in integrated testing of the launch vehicles they are building.
“Europe’s emerging commercial launch service providers are pushing towards their first launches,” Toni Tolker-Nielsen, ESA’s director of space transportation, said in a statement. “We are very interested to see their rockets deliver.”
ESA did not disclose the breakout of the funding, but Isar Aerospace said it received 15 million euros in additional Boost! funding. The company said it will use the funding for testing for the first two flights of its Spectrum small launch vehicle. The company has previously stated it planned to conduct the first Spectrum launch before the end of the year but has not provided recent updates on launch preparations.
Orbex said it received 5.6 million euros for integrated testing of its Orbex Prime launch vehicle it is developing for a first launch as soon as 2025. “This funding extension will enable us to make the vital next step in our journey as we move towards our inaugural launch of our microlauncher, Orbex Prime, next year,” said Phil Chambers, chief executive of Orbex, in a statement.
