Spaceport America, NM – July 16, 2019 –Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport and EXOS Aerospace, a leading developer of reusable space launch vehicles based in Greenville, Texas, announce the test launch of SARGE Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (SRLV) “Mission 3” at Spaceport America.
EXOS Aerospace completed the Pathfinder Launch on August 25, 2018 from Spaceport America. It was the first step in validating the SARGE SRLV could be flown and recovered. See the YouTube recaps at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G9dJ3IQQVk&t=216s
On March 2, 2019, the “Mission 1” test flight of the SARGE reusable system carried commercial payloads. After this flight, EXOS returned the payloads to their customers for analysis and upgrade before re-flight.
On June 29, 2019, the “Mission 3” test flight of the SARGE reusable system carried commercial payloads flown under the programs listed below. There was anomaly in the attitude control system, however, the vehicle aborted and recovered back to near the launch site setting a record for the small team having used a suborbital rocket three times. Quinn was later heard saying “Incremental advancement with reusable vehicles is the way EXOS Aerospace will make SPACEavailable...”
Flight programs and associated payloads on the June 29, 2019 flight:
SPACEedu… Help your school fund, build, fly and reuse CubeSat projects for their S.T.E.M research programs. Having already flown for many schools, EXOS is literally taking education to a higher level. P1. Arete’ Greater Nanticoke Area Trojans -Space thermal energy transfer experiment P2. Jeremiah Pate -Gossmer Powered Picosat P3. University of Central Florida – Dust Aggregation Experiment (SPACE-2 NASA REDDI Payload) P4. Purdue University (PREFER) Space and Payload Atmospheric recording system are aboard this flight.
SPACEbuild… Test or manufacture in space aboard an EXOS vehicle for premium exposure to space flight conditions. The reduced cost of suborbital flights makes it a preferred risk mitigation step for qualifying orbital payloads. P5. NASA -Vibration Damper - TRL advancement P6. Agronautics, LLC -Space hops & grain, P7. SOLGW -memorabilia) P8. ASTRAX International – Memorabilia are aboard this flight.
SPACEaid… Perform breakthrough medical research by leveraging the ability to test in the microgravity and vacuum of space. With EXOS we can return your payload within minutes of landing. Our soft (5G) launch and fin stabilization means a gentle ride for your payload requiring less effort in payload design over other commercial launch options. On this flight, P9. Center for Applied Space Technologies -Sponsoring Mayo Clinic will fly two “BRIC67” payloads- the Mayo team will study the effects of hypergravity and microgravity on glioblastoma spheroids.
SPACEship… Launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico and we'll deliver your payload to space and eject it to perform your test outside our vehicle.* (LEO target aboard our reusable (first stage) Jaguar vehicle - late 2022).
“We’re honored to have Spaceport America serve as the launch site for EXOS Aerospace’s innovative SARGE Project,” said Dan Hicks, CEO of Spaceport America. “They are making great strides in the space industry, as well as revolutionizing access to space research and space-related education. While this last launch may not have gone exactly as they would have liked, it was a great success in terms of retrieval and reuse of the rocket. We congratulate them on Mission 3, and we look forward to celebrating their continued ingenuinty in their future operations.”
Flight Summary – Following the launch, EXOS COO, John Quinn, said, “While I am saddened by the anomaly, that was quickly overshadowed by the recovery and with the experimental payloads that are making groundbreaking impacts in the areas of science and biomedical research process. I’m excited to get to work on failure-modes analysis for this flight and to see the data and results of the experiments, as we continue to fill out the matrices that have the potential to ultimately change the way we treat numerous debilitating diseases.”
What’s next for EXOS Aerospace?
Shift to worldwide expansion- "With this third we will continue to push SARGE to space but largely focus on the engineering of our Jaguar reusable (first stage) LEO launcher,” said John Quinn, EXOS COO. “Our National Charter Enterprise program will engage other Nations as we look to take what we have done with our SRLV and expand to LEO launch. In order to effectively execute our business plan we need to esatablish 3-4 National Charters wtih key Nations across the globe and PricewaterhouseCoopers has been instrumental in establishing the model that we will use to complete that expansion. Look for news coming out soon as we close with our first EU nation (currently under MOU) and announce our first equatorial candidate to go under MOU. EXOS Aerospace looks forward to supporting space research, manufacturing, and educational opportunities for the world by providing frequent suborbital flights that provide fast and affordable access to space and believe we can support that mission only by being global. Get ready world, Exos Aerospace is bringing Airline type On Demand Space Service to you!”
Partnerships- Beyond mobile ground launch, EXOS is partnering with Fenix Space, Inc. to explore conducting airborne launches from Spaceport America Spaceway to support tow plane and autonomous glider operations as a way to increase the SARGE and future vehicles capability. Both companies are enticed by the environment the Spaceport provides to its commercial customers and believe the benefits will continue to enable new technologies making SPACEavailable…
About EXOS Aerospace Systems & Technologies, Inc.
EXOS is a leading developer of reusable space launch vehicles based in Greenville, Texas. EXOS provides affordable, repeatable, and reliable commercial spaceflight with accelerated turnaround. Payload customers are those who want to “fly now,” rather than a year from now, need minutes of micro G time, and prompt access to their payload. EXOS is booking payloads now on its SARGE vehicle and has SPACEavailable…
About Spaceport America
Spaceport America is the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world. The FAA-licensed launch complex, situated on 18,000 acres adjacent to the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, has a rocket friendly environment of 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace, low population density, a 12,000-foot spaceway, vertical launch complexes, and 340 days of sunshine and low humidity. Some of the most respected companies in the commercial space industry are customers at Spaceport America: Virgin Galactic, Boeing, UP Aerospace, EXOS Aerospace, HyperSciences, and SpinLaunch. Visit http://spaceportamerica.com and http://gatewaytospace.com for more information. Spaceport America is #NewMexicoTRUE.