• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • NEWS:
  • SatNews
  • SatMagazine
  • MilSatMagazine
  • SmallSat News
  • |     EVENTS:
  • SmallSat Symposium
  • Satellite Innovation
  • MilSat Symposium

SatNews

  • HOME
  • Magazines
  • Events
  • Perspectives
  • Industry Calendar
    • IN PERSON
    • VIRTUAL
  • Subscribe

UPDATE: iRocket’s USAF is for Fully Reusable, Autonomous, Small Rockets — Flight-Ready in Less Than 24 Hours

July 9, 2020

A rendering of iRocket’s Shockwave launch vehicle, lifting off from Spaceport Oklahoma to support a National Security Mission for the Department of Defense.

iRocket signed a Phase II RAPID Other Transaction Agreement contract with the U.S. Air Force. The award was created just three months after the phase I contract when iRocket partnered with Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

iRocket is a privately funded New York startup building autonomous small reusable rockets to cargo micro, nano, cube, and constellations to LEO on its Shockwave launch vehicle. The company develops cost-effective small launch vehicles that can support 300kg and 1500 kg payloads for space research and exploration.

After the recent successful launch of two American astronauts into orbit by the SpaceX/NASA partnership, there has been an increase in media interest in private companies innovating, reducing costs, and increasing access to space exploration, which are iRocket’s specialties. iRocket plans to disrupt the small satellite market and will offer on-orbit satellite servicing capabilities by 2025.

iRocket’s Shockwave will be a fully autonomous launch vehicle and the only fully reusable small launcher in the market. It will consist of two stages to orbit, the first and second stage landing back on the launch site. iRocket will prove inland launch capabilities to the Department of Defense and be mission capable of launching within 24 hrs. iRocket plans to launch its rockets from Launch Complex 48 at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Executive Comment

“We are competing in the small launch market. Where everyone else is focused on economies of scale, we are focused on reliability and high margin capture models” said iRocket CEO, Asad Malik.

Filed Under: Business Moves

Primary Sidebar

Most Read Stories

  • UPDATE 6: Lunar Transfer Orbit achieved by Rocket Lab for the NASA CAPSTONE smallsat — 1st deep space mission success for the company
  • UPDATE 2: Virgin Orbit Heads Straight Up with Space Systems Comand's STP-S28A + six DoD rideshare partners aboard LauncherOne
  • UPDATE 3: Via an Atlas V 541 rocket, ULA advances the USSF-12 mission to GEO + Northrop Grumman's ESPAStar™ satellite
  • OneWeb signs Relativity Space to launch several Gen2 satellites via the 3D printed Terran R rocket
  • The initial contracts for the DIU's HSA program awarded to four companies

About Satnews

  • Contacts
  • History

Archives

  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020

Secondary Sidebar

x
Sign up Now (For Free)
Access daily or weekly satellite news updates covering all aspects of the commercial and military satellite industry.
Invalid email address
Notify Me Regarding ( At least one ):
We value your privacy and will not sell or share your email or other information with any other company. You may also unsubscribe at anytime.

Click Here to see our full privacy policy.
Thanks for subscribing!