ALPHA IMPULSION

Introduction

Alpha Impulsion is a deeptech startup from Toulouse developing a new technology for rocket propulsion: hybrid autophage propulsion.

Our mission is to offer a dedicated launch service to mini and micro satellites for the lowest price of the market and with the lowest environmental impact. 

Context

We want to enter the market of the launch service providers for small satellites (<500 kg). This comes from a trend that has been identified in the last years: since satellite are launched with a fixed price/kg manufacturers are reducing the size and mass of their products to save on launching costs.

The problem is that at the state of art, there is no launcher that can offer a customised (and dedicated) launch to these satellites for a good price. For this reason, satellite manufacturers ask for an intermediate “broker” to assemble many satellites together and embark them in a bigger launcher (i.e. Falcon 9). Profiting of a scale factor, they can offer a price per kg as low as 6k€/kg, against the 30 k€/kg of dedicated launcher companies like RocketLab or Innospace.  This is due to the launcher technology, that is difficult to scale down in size as it involves many components like stages, separation systems, multiple engines and tanks which becomes a relevant part of the mass when we reduce the total size of the rocket.

Nevertheless, big launchers are not flexible. They force satellite manufacturers to access an orbit that is not exactly the desired one and with a time to market which is slow, since they need to wait for the rocket fairing to be full of satellites needing to go towards the same orbit.

This brings delays and expenses for the satellite operators, which often prefer launching at a higher price to have a customised launch. 

Alpha Impulsion Tech

Alpha Impulsion wants to offer a customised launch for a price lower than the grouped ones.

To do so, we remove all the unnecessary mass from the rocket, and we propose a single stage to orbit rocket where the propellant is used as structure. One can imagine the rocket as a candle, where the flame (the rocket engine) burns the whole structure during the propulsive phase.

This allows to reduce the number of components to be produced and to simplify the technology overall. The first effect of this redefinition of the architecture is that the cost of launching into orbit is reduced by a factor of 10, because only the combustion chamber and the fairing have to be produced, simplifying logistics and manufacturing.

The solid fuel is a common thermoplastic tube, which is not expensive and easily available on the market. The latter can be produced recycling plastic.

These financial benefits come together with a reduction in the carbon footprint. Not only there is less logistics and manufacturing operations, but as the rocket is lighter, the amount of propellants to be burnt (considering the same payload) is greatly reduced. The first complete life cycle analysis has shown a CO2 emissions reduction between 25 to 50 %. An R&D contract has been signed with CNES to develop further this aspect of the technology.

Market

The total addressable market for our final launcher is estimated to average $6.7 billion between 2012 and 2021, according to the report 'Satellites to be Built & Launched' by the consulting firm Euroconsult. This market is expected to grow to $8.6 billion between 2022 and 2031. This corresponds to a fourfold increase in the number of satellites launched, with an average of 2,500 satellites launched annually until 2030. 

Within this market, our service caters to the market for satellites weighing less than 500 kg, currently valued at an average of $550 million annually (2011-2020) according to 'Prospects for the Small Satellite Market,' with forecasts reaching $1.9 billion annually (2021-2030).

Development phase

Alpha Impulsion is about to finish its proof of concept on a small scale hybrid autophage launcher. This development has been funded by a total of 4 R&D contract with CNES, a BPI grant for deep tech projects and the ESA BIC grant.

Once the PoC completed, the rocket will fly the first time by Q4 2024, achieving an average TRL of 4.

We are now working on the next phase, which is scaling this rocket up until its orbital version.