Equatorial Space Industries

[Tywin]

It's look like we have a new company of launcher, this time from Singapur 

https://equatorialspace.com/

They have the rocket Volans:



And their plan is to star the fly before end 2019 

The newspace race in Asia is on fire 

[Steven Pietrobon]

Propulsion: Hybrid (Paraffin/LOX)
Length: 8m
Diameter: 1m
Stages: 2
Launch Mass: 7 tons
List Price: $1,000,000 per Launch
Payload: 71 kg (1°, 400 km) to 6 kg (SSO, 1200 km)

[PM3]

And their plan is to star the fly before end 2019 

Slipped to 2021: https://equatorialspace.com/?page_id=3446

[xyv]

Paraffin?  Let's light this candle up!

...I'll let myself out...

[CameronD]

Paraffin?

Well, if you can't buy RP-1...

[edzieba]

Paraffin?

Well, if you can't buy RP-1...

Could be regional confusion: the US uses Kerosene for both the refined and less refined versions, where many parts of the world use Kerosene for the less refined aviation fuel and Paraffin for the more refined version. RP-1 is refined Kerosene, after all, so could also be called a high grade of Paraffin.

[RonM]

Paraffin?

Well, if you can't buy RP-1...

Could be regional confusion: the US uses Kerosene for both the refined and less refined versions, where many parts of the world use Kerosene for the less refined aviation fuel and Paraffin for the more refined version. RP-1 is refined Kerosene, after all, so could also be called a high grade of Paraffin.

It's a hybrid engine, so the paraffin is a solid. The other name for kerosene is paraffin oil.

[Tywin]

Good news, for Equatorial Space Industries, they received a invest from a Space Angel...enough cash maybe for see the launcher Volans...

It will support development of ESI’s upcoming suborbital SHARP (Suborbital Hybrid Ascent and Recovery Program) vehicle slated to fly in early 2020. The vehicle’s engine will use liquid Nitrous Oxide as compared Liquid Oxygen used in the previous v.2.2 Engine ground prototype, and will be capable of in-flight restartability.

The location of the test flight, as well as cooperation and arrangements with local suppliers and authorities, will be revealed in the next few months. ESI’s Volans microlauncher is expected to conduct its first test flight in 2021 from a yet-to-be determined location in the APAC region.

https://spacewatch.global/2019/06/equatorial-space-industries-secures-angel-funding/

40 kg per half million?  will see...

[Jamie Anderson]

Update on Volans vehicle

https://www.equatorialspace.com/the-volans

[Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25]

I am a Singaporean Student, i can help bring some info on ESI. From their facebook page, they are going to test their 1500m test rocket soon after the COVID reopening here. I can try to get into contact with them if you guys would like, i emailed them recently on my own Rocket Project about the legality of firing it in such a country with strict laws against anything that flies.(Mine is a motor so its okay).

[Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25]

To be honest though, i would prefer them to have a liquid Rocket Engine from Ursa Major because Hybrids are a pain in the ass once you scale it up.Technical skills here is just lacking to be honest, the most that we can do here is hybrids because Laws hate Solids and we don't have the expertise,capital and talent for the knowledge in Liquid Rocket Engines.

[Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25]

Update on Volans vehicle

https://www.equatorialspace.com/the-volans

Woah are you the Jamie Anderson in the ESI website,if so i want to ask if scaling hybrids in the Singapore context is possible.Space is no issue because we just need a warehouse in the industrial zones but does the proprietary fuel by ESI allow the successful scaling of a hybrid rocket?

[john smith 19]

To be honest though, i would prefer them to have a liquid Rocket Engine from Ursa Major because Hybrids are a pain in the ass once you scale it up.Technical skills here is just lacking to be honest, the most that we can do here is hybrids because Laws hate Solids and we don't have the expertise,capital and talent for the knowledge in Liquid Rocket Engines.

American Rocket (AmRoc) built LOX hybrids up to 250k Lb which were ground tested. The untimely death of their CEO killed the project.  There were studies done in the late 70's/early 80's of hybrid versions of the shuttle SRB's.

Historically hybrids don't deliver the Isp of solids but IIRC NASA awarded contracts to see if this could be improved. Going from a rubber based to a paraffin wax based fuel gives a surface that vaporizes much more easily and is more turbulent, promoting more effective GO2/fuel mixing. This suggested Isps of solids without the explosives issues were possible. This can be improved further by borrowing (from the Sprint ABM programme) the trick of embedding metal "staples" or "caltraps"  in steel, aluminum or magnesium in the fuel to conduct heat to the surface and add energy to the burn.

This also means the design can be worked on in built up areas. It's only when you bring in the oxidizer you need lots of space for a big test.

For a commercial LV mfg hybrids are not a terrible choice. I'm always extremely suspicious of supposed commercial designs that use solids, especially in the main stages. Unless you mfg them yourselves you're at the mercy of your suppliers pricing (one of the reasons the Pegasus XL is the most expensive launcher per Kg on the planet).

They make great weapon systems

[john smith 19]

Update on Volans vehicle

https://www.equatorialspace.com/the-volans

Hmm

Chilled Nox oxidizer and a Sea Launch style floating launch pad.

[Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25]

On their site, the solid parrafin fuel has a formula name of HRF-1AL. Given that the regression rate is higher, it is most likely ultra fine aluminum powder at about 40%of mass.Chilled Nitrous to improve density impulse.

[Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25]

Hmm

Chilled Nox oxidizer and a Sea Launch style floating launch pad.

The region is not that good for that because the best nearby location is the South China sea where our neighbors mainly have military airspace and are generally not open to using their airspace.We could use an Indonesian Island called Natuna island in the Riau Islands where there are no airways and shipping ways for at least 200km down range for polar orbits to the north but since its in the South China Sea and due to disputes, it would be really hard to get a launch site there. Sea launch is expensive as you need to take into account wear by the sea and the infrastructure is very expensive to build which is quite difficult for a start up with less than 200K in funding for now.
My country(Singapore) is doing an interesting approach to the space industry where it will not be financially supporting any company which is quite different from the traditional private-public partnerships like Australia where its pumping in 150M into the space industry.And given how bad the economy is now, its going to be hard to get VC funding for the foreseeable future for start ups in Singapore.So i don't really agree with my countries strategy.

[CameronD]

Hmm

Chilled Nox oxidizer and a Sea Launch style floating launch pad.

The region is not that good for that because the best nearby location is the South China sea where our neighbors mainly have military airspace and are generally not open to using their airspace.We could use an Indonesian Island called Natuna island in the Riau Islands where there are no airways and shipping ways for at least 200km down range for polar orbits to the north but since its in the South China Sea and due to disputes, it would be really hard to get a launch site there. Sea launch is expensive as you need to take into account wear by the sea and the infrastructure is very expensive to build which is quite difficult for a start up with less than 200K in funding for now.
My country(Singapore) is doing an interesting approach to the space industry where it will not be financially supporting any company which is quite different from the traditional private-public partnerships like Australia where its pumping in 150M into the space industry.And given how bad the economy is now, its going to be hard to get VC funding for the foreseeable future for start ups in Singapore.So i don't really agree with my countries strategy.

If you look at their main page, you'll notice Southern Launch are one of their "partners".  Connecting the dots, I would say that if they develop this vehicle to the point of needing somewhere to launch from, they'll most likely ship it to South Australia.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=46926.0


EDIT:  BTW AFAIK, Australia is not "pumping in 150M into the space industry".  Into running the Space Agency maybe, but certainly not industry..

[Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25]

Hmm

Chilled Nox oxidizer and a Sea Launch style floating launch pad.

The region is not that good for that because the best nearby location is the South China sea where our neighbors mainly have military airspace and are generally not open to using their airspace.We could use an Indonesian Island called Natuna island in the Riau Islands where there are no airways and shipping ways for at least 200km down range for polar orbits to the north but since its in the South China Sea and due to disputes, it would be really hard to get a launch site there. Sea launch is expensive as you need to take into account wear by the sea and the infrastructure is very expensive to build which is quite difficult for a start up with less than 200K in funding for now.
My country(Singapore) is doing an interesting approach to the space industry where it will not be financially supporting any company which is quite different from the traditional private-public partnerships like Australia where its pumping in 150M into the space industry.And given how bad the economy is now, its going to be hard to get VC funding for the foreseeable future for start ups in Singapore.So i don't really agree with my countries strategy.

If you look at their main page, you'll notice Southern Launch are one of their "partners".  Connecting the dots, I would say that if they develop this vehicle to the point of needing somewhere to launch from, they'll most likely ship it to South Australia.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=46926.0


EDIT:  BTW AFAIK, Australia is not "pumping in 150M into the space industry".  Into running the Space Agency maybe, but certainly not industry..

Yeah this is why i am also quite skeptical of it being a South East Asian operated Launch company, it will move to Australia just like how Gilmour did. The rules and regulations here are really unfriendly to launch companies sadly.

[CameronD]

If you look at their main page, you'll notice Southern Launch are one of their "partners".  Connecting the dots, I would say that if they develop this vehicle to the point of needing somewhere to launch from, they'll most likely ship it to South Australia.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=46926.0


EDIT:  BTW AFAIK, Australia is not "pumping in 150M into the space industry".  Into running the Space Agency maybe, but certainly not industry..

Yeah this is why i am also quite skeptical of it being a South East Asian operated Launch company, it will move to Australia just like how Gilmour did. The rules and regulations here are really unfriendly to launch companies sadly.

Gilmour are, and have always been, an Australian company.  There's nothing to stop Equatorial Space building their rockets in Singapore, thus supporting the local economy.  Launch control also can be handled remotely these days (particularly from so tech-advanced a country as Singapore), so MCC is most likely to be in Singapore also.

And if ELA ever get to launch big rockets from the Northern Territory then they'll have two places they can launch from on Australian soil, so I guess I'm not as skeptical as you are. 

[Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25]

If you look at their main page, you'll notice Southern Launch are one of their "partners".  Connecting the dots, I would say that if they develop this vehicle to the point of needing somewhere to launch from, they'll most likely ship it to South Australia.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=46926.0


EDIT:  BTW AFAIK, Australia is not "pumping in 150M into the space industry".  Into running the Space Agency maybe, but certainly not industry..

Yeah this is why i am also quite skeptical of it being a South East Asian operated Launch company, it will move to Australia just like how Gilmour did. The rules and regulations here are really unfriendly to launch companies sadly.

Gilmour are, and have always been, an Australian company.  There's nothing to stop Equatorial Space building their rockets in Singapore, thus supporting the local economy.  Launch control also can be handled remotely these days (particularly from so tech-advanced a country as Singapore), so MCC is most likely to be in Singapore also.

And if ELA ever get to launch big rockets from the Northern Territory then they'll have two places they can launch from on Australian soil, so I guess I'm not as skeptical as you are. 

It would be more expensive to operate according to what you have suggested because shipping a fully build rocket is going to be quite expensive and time consuming considering how far Singapore is from the South Australian Launch site.Maybe the engines could be made in Singapore but there is no obvious advantage of that as  manufacturing and testing  of the engines can also be done in Australia which is in fact a much better place since Singapore is  Land scarce.That's why i think Equatorial will move to Australia and maybe come back to the Singapore and the wider ASEAN region when regulations are much more friendlier to launch activities because we have little to no regulatory framework in Singapore plus the government is unlikely to establish any space agency for the foreseeable future