Updates

Ever imagined this view? Well, this shot is one of our favorites! We decided to set a GoPro camera right at the bottom of our GEO engine. We love seeing the flame with the sky as background!

EVER SEEN OUR ENGINE FROM THIS VIEW?

Drone shot of our GEO engine being tested!

We successfully performed two re-ignitions, completing three engine burns in total.

This test was designed to prove the engine's re-start capability, which is crucial for complex missions like a GEO insertion.

After a primary insertion burn, the spacecraft is required to transfer to a graveyard orbit for end of life, and reigniting the engine 2 to 3 times is required to perform this maneuver.


Drone shot of our GEO engine being tested!


DRONE SHOT GEO TEST!

Each moment before testing the team have to make sure the engine is set up properly all systems are ready for the firing, but even with +260 tests under their belt, everyone still manages to keep enthusiastic all throughout!

Here are some shots previous our GEO engine test

MOMENTS BEFORE TESTING

Ever seen our test site from this viewpoint? We love a good drone shot!


DRONE VIEW OF OUR TEST SITE

This is one of the shots of our Tromen (GEO) engine we filmed in February.

This particular engine has accumulated over 180 seconds of run time over just 2 weeks, demonstrating a propellant throughput of over 200 kg.

That is enough to transport up to 150 kg of payload to geostationary orbit, almost 35786 km above earth!


GEO ENGINE TEST CAMPAIGN!

On December, we begun a new test campaign for TROMEN, our GEO engine.

Hitting over 30 re-starts with the same injector, we are testing operating ranges and durability. With 220-500 kg of thrust, this engine runs on commonly available fuels like kerosene and will carry 300kg+ to GEO.

Between many tests, we decided to experience the engine with our own eyes, watching it from safe distance, part of our team experienced the sound and view of this Tromen engine!

It's been an epic journey!

We hit 150 Tromen engine tests! Let's explore our journey.

150 ENGINE TESTS OF TROMEN

Our test site at night

We have been testing our Chimera LEO engine.

This is part of a campaign that started around October/November 2021, and we already conducted more than 60 engine tests!


We have been testing our Chimera LEO engine.



OUR 60 LEO ENGINE TEST!

We keep growing our infrastructure, this time we've been adding protection walls around the test-stand to improve safety.

It also helps reducing noise from each test since our Tromen engine sounds just like + 300kg of noisy thrust!


HAVE YOU SEEN OUR PROTECTION WALLS?

We have just installed our support container next to our existing test container!

This support container will be used as a semi clean environment to store space-tugs awaiting hot-fire testing. It had been in our plans for a long time but now it's finally here!

By separating it slightly from the test-stand, we are able to keep it moderately safe and since it's connected to the test container via a bridge, it provides a comfortable environment to work in when space-tugs or test-stands need on-the-fly changes.

We have just installed our support container next to our existing test container!



INFRASTRUCTURE: WE ADDED A SUPPORT CONTAINER!

It's August 26, 2021 and we are happy to announce that the GEO engine has reached test number 100!

It's been an exciting journey already and we will keep testing to ready our engines for flight!

With 220-500 kg of thrust, this engine runs on commonly available fuels like kerosene and will carry up to 300kg or more to GEO!


It's August 26 and we reached our 100 geo Engine test!

YES! WE REACHED OUR 100 GEO ENGINE TEST!

Join us as we share both the good and bad of 2020 year!

WATCH OUR 2020 VIDEO RECAP ON YOUTUBE 

The barrier to entry for commercial space activity remains prohibitively high for entrepreneurial efforts to take place routinely. Jeff Bezos spoke at the Yale Club in New York City, highlighting the immense financial obs

tacles needed to make commercial space entrepreneurship a regular pursuit. In his February 19th address to the audience, he stated that right now, “

You can’t have a Mark Zuckerberg of space today

,” because the “price of admission is too high.” While Bezos’s comments occurred earlier this year, he ought to know that there is a ‘Mark Zuckerberg of space’ furiously work

ing to make his impact on space. His name is Ignacio Alejandro Belieres Montero. Montero, a 21-year-old Stanford University dropout, has started Epic Aerospace, a space transportation network startup. Epic Aerospace manufactures space tugs that are used to help insert satellites into their proper geosynchronous orbit. The San Francisco- and Buenos Aires-based company has recently closed their seed round.

Epic Aerospace's founder, Ignacio Alejandro Belieres Montero.

The geostationary insertion market is estimated to be 

, as mentioned in TechCrunch. A more detailed analysis of the small satellite market supports the article’s estimation. The formal definition of a small satellite is one that weighs between 100 to 500 kilograms. According to Euroconsult, there were 

322 small satellites placed into orbit across 44 launches

. Assuming that the majority of these small satellites were not the primary, but the secondary payload, ridesharing occurred in these launches. Spaceflight’s 

price listing for satellite rideshare launches

 to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is useful for calculating the market size. The lower bound of the 2018 small satellite market, assuming each one weighed 100 kg, is $2.7 billion. The upper bound of the market at 500 kg/satellite is $4.5 billion. The size of the market also allows for other competitors to emerge, such as Atomos. 

, another YC-backed space tug startup, has entered into partnership agreements with 

 to position small satellites into custom orbits with their space tugs.

Epic Aerospace is building reusable space tugs to meet the needs of small satellite operators. A space tug is a small spacecraft dedicated to moving other spacecraft from one orbit around the earth to another. NASA first explored the concept of reusable space tugs in the late 60s and early 70s. However, further development was canceled due to the decline of funding of the space agency’s national budget. Decades later, private space companies are now pursuing this technology at scale. Epic Aerospace aims to develop chemical-propelled inexpensive space tugs that dock to satellites and reposition them in low-earth orbit (LEO). Once the startup has proven the reliability of the tugs placing satellites in LEO, then they will use the tugs to place satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO). The space tugs get transported into space via a traditional two-stage launch vehicle and then deploy to maneuver satellites into their final orbit. The tugs will then refuel and repeat the process until the end of its operational life. These space tugs are the first step in Montero’s endeavors in space.

Epic Aerospace's full team with their rocket in the background.

Beyond his expertise in rocketry, the most impressive things about Montero are his recruiting ability and vision for the future of commercialized space activity. Montero’s startup is currently a twelve-man team with over thirty-five years of experience in the aerospace industry. The team’s expertise spans 200 engine tests, three medium-size launch vehicles, and two Argentinian flagship satellites. It’s a testament to his ability to recruit, but more so, his vision of commercial aerospace activity. With strong space tugs in operation, small satellite design costs can be reduced. They don’t have to have their propulsion systems anymore to maneuver to their desired orbits after launch. Satellite manufacturers and operators can increase their focus can be spent on improving the communication, imaging, and other capabilities of satellites.

Epic Aerospace is building reusable space tugs to meet the needs of small satellite operators. A space tug is a small spacecraft dedicated to moving other spacecraft from one orbit around the earth to another.