Deimos-One, a leading aerospace and defense technology company, has announced its plans to begin Phase-1 testing on a stratospheric launch system designed to carry micro-payloads to space from altitudes of 100,o00 feet.
A two-stage craft which consists of a stratospheric balloon and a rocket, the launch vehicle is one of the company’s proposed technologies they hope will drastically reduce the costs of launching payloads and people into space.
A first-stage balloon that carries a launch vehicle to a designated altitude of roughly 30 km (19 mi), and once there, it aligns itself and then engages the rocket engine to fire. It then exits the atmosphere at a planned trajectory and inserts the payload into orbit.
The autonomous system will feature multiple thrusters to maintain stability and orientation, as well as a proprietary rail system for a multi-stage rocket.
The rocket will be capable of launching 77 lbs. (35 kilograms) of payload to an altitude of 340 miles (550 kilometers) sun-synchronous orbit, or 132 lbs. (60 kg) to a circular orbit of 186 miles (300 km) up.
The company also plans to conduct suborbital missions using the technology and a heavy systems rocket, which will be able to get a 330 lbs. (150 kg) payload to an altitude of 250 miles (400 km).
The system will require no fixed ground infrastructure and will provide rapid launch frequency for sounding rockets, LEO satellites, and even consumer products at a low-cost to any low earth orbit.
The goal is to launch and deploy distributed spacecraft missions (DSM) quickly and efficiently into space, and eventually lower the cost of access to space.