Germans plan to conquer space with mini-rockets

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A number of German start-ups hope to participate with their mini-rockets in the current space race that is currently going on, especially to get satellites into the atmosphere. With rockets weighing up to 1,500 kilos, they think they’ve found a hole in the market.

The Rockets can carry much less mass than, for example, the Falcon 9 of SpaceX. Still, they’re big enough to launch a minisatellite. The deployment of satellites is urgently needed in the present time. They are used for everything from high-speed internet to autonomous driving.

The three companies from southern Germany, Isar Aerospace Technologies, Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse Technologies, believe that customers will pay a premium for using their so-called micro-launchers. The use of the mini-rocket increases flexibility in the transport of the minuscule satellites intended to revolutionise global communications.

Transport by mini-rocket is more expensive than using a large rocket. For example, HyImpulse plans to charge 7000 euros for every kilo of cargo that has to be shot into space. That’s 2.5 times more than SpaceX calculates. Hylmpulse founder Christian Schmierer makes the comparison with the difference between a bus or a taxi. “A bus is cheaper, but a taxi is more convenient and will get you to your destination faster.”

SpaceX has gained market share by designing reusable missiles that bring down the price of each mission. But the three startups think that the rising demand for launches combined with an initial lack of capacity will allow their services to thrive alongside the established players

According to experts, broadband satellites will be a strong driver of the growing revenues of the space industry. That market will have nearly tripled to 1 trillion dollars by 2040. The launch market should have doubled in size to $ 26 billion by 2027, Fortune Business Insights researchers estimate.

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