The powerhouse in the automobile industry Germany is hurrying to join the commercial space race, hoping to capitalize on a surge in mini-launchers for small satellites and compete with large US companies like SpaceX.
Three initiatives, in particular, are establishing Germany as a major contender in the race to develop mini-launchers for the growing number of small satellites that monitor the Earth and offer connectivity for the internet of things and smart cars.
In the end of July, the German company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) successfully tested its “RFA One” rocket, igniting the engine for eight seconds at its Kiruna, Sweden, development facility.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin also use the rocket’s “staged combustion” technique, although it has yet to be deployed in Europe.
It permits “30 percent more payload to be put into orbit,” according to RFA’s operations director Joern Spurmann.
Another German company, HyImpulse of Baden-Württemberg, grabbed headlines in May with a 20-second engine test on the Shetland Islands, which used a candle-wax-based fuel to maximize efficiency.
Christian Schmierer, the co-founder of HyImpulse, said, “Our technology is sophisticated enough to satisfy the mini-launcher market.”
Isar Aerospace, which is led by three directors in their thirties and is based just outside Munich, has yet to conduct its first engine test but is the most well-funded of the three.
The startup has raised more than 150 million euros ($180 million) in funding from investors including the Swiss bank Lombard Odier, venture capitalists HV Capital, and holding company Porsche SE, and hopes to launch its “Spectrum” rocket for the first time in 2022.
