BERLIN, May 3 (Reuters) – German company HyImpulse announced on Friday the first successful firing of a candle wax (paraffin) rocket from South Australia, a small suborbital satellite launcher called SR75.
“We are sending a signal about Germany’s prowess as a space nation and we are expanding Europe’s access to space,” said Mario Kobald, chairman of the board of HyImpulse, in a press release.
The 12 meter long rocket, weighing 2.5 tonnes, was fired shortly after 05:00 GMT from the Koonibba site. The SR75 can transport a satellite weighing up to 250 kilos to an altitude of 250 kilometers.
The rocket is powered by liquid oxygen and paraffin, an inexpensive “fuel” that poses no explosion risk. According to HyImpulse, its use can cut the cost of satellite launches in half.
The German start-up, which employs 65 people, claims to have already received 100 million euros in requests for satellite launches.
It is also working on the development of a larger rocket, SL1 (32 meters long and maximum load of 600 kilos), for flights in low orbit. (Report by Hakan Ersen, written by Andrey Sychev, French version by Sophie Louet, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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