Reuters, May 3, Berlin – On Friday, the German startup HyImpulse successfully launched a rocket fuelled by candle wax that can launch commercial satellites into space for the first time on a test suborbital flight.
As said in a statement, “We’re signalling Germany’s prowess as a spacefaring nation and expanding Europe’s access to space,” Mario Kobald, the CEO of HyImpulse.
Shortly after 0500 GMT, the 12-meter, 2.5-ton test rocket known as “SR75” took off from a launch site in Koonibba, South Australia.
Fueled by paraffin, or candle wax, and liquid oxygen, it can launch small satellites weighing up to 250 kg (551 pounds) to an altitude of up to 250 km (155 miles).
HyImpulse claims that paraffin may be utilised as a safer and less expensive substitute fuel for rockets, resulting in a 50% reduction in the cost of satellite transportation.
The 65-person company, which was separated from Germany’s DLR space agency, claimed to have already received orders for 100 million euros ($105 million) worth of satellite transportation.
The firm noted in a statement that the project had “some public backing” but was primarily privately funded.
Hyimpulse wants to grow along with the growing market for commercial satellites; by 2032, it hopes to reach an annual sales value of 700 million euros.
It intends to launch “SL-1” by the end of the next year, a more substantial, multi-stage rocket that can carry satellites up to 600 kg into low Earth orbit.
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