Web Desk
BERLIN: Germany’s HyImpulse successfully launched a wax-powered rocket capable of carrying a commercial satellite in its first suborbital flight test into space on Friday.
“We show Germany’s courage as a spacefarer and expand Europe’s access to space,” said Mario Kobald, CEO of HyImpulse.
The 12-meter, 2.5-ton test rocket, known as the SR75, lifted off from an airstrip in Koonibba, South Australia shortly after 0500 GMT.
According to HyImpulse, paraffin can be used as a cheap and reliable alternative fuel for rockets, reducing the cost of satellite transportation by up to 50%.
The startup’s statement said it was privately funded with “some community support.”
Hyimpulse aims to expand as the demand for commercial satellites grows and expects annual sales of 700 million euros by 2032.
By the end of next year, it plans to launch the SL-1, a large, multi-stage rocket capable of putting up to 600 kilograms into low-Earth orbit.
Web Desk
Adnan Arif
