Company Update
1/4/23
Fusion Space has been rather busy over the past few months as we prepare to expand our operations for more ambitious tasks, and we'd like to give you an update on what has been going on! Take a read below to get some insight into our current projects and get a recap on what has already happened.
Fusion Two
You may have seen a lot of attention being focused on our next launcher, Fusion Two. This rocket is a partially reusable heavy lift launch vehicle designed for reliability, rapid reuse and cost. We recently just rolled our first orbital booster to the launch site for preflight testing including a static fire which we hope to conduct on April 7th so stay tuned!
Fusion Two Showcase:
Statistics:
- 31000kg to LDO
- 14 Aeolus Staged Combustion Methalox Engines
- Reusable First Stage and Fairings
- $45,000,000 Maximum Price (Varies with missions)
Aeolus Engine
Aeolus is a staged combustion cycle Methalox engine designed to be flown up to 15 times. It will power both Fusion Two and Fusion Three, producing 650kN of thrust each, but this will hopefully increase to support future ambitions.
Customer Guide to Fusion Two
Fusion Two will be the most dynamic launch vehicle ever designed. We aim to support almost every possible customer need. Take a look at what we can offer below.
- Customisable satellite buses for varying mission requirements (More information soon)
- Satellite manufacturing for customers
- Launches to almost any inclination
- Launches to almost anywhere in the Juno system
- Launches within 3 weeks of applying (Not guaranteed till 2025 due to backlog)
Fusion Two is currently targeting April 27th for a demonstration mission so keep an eye out for a detailed post on it
Project Announcements
Fusion Space is more than just a launcher. We want to expand life beyond Droo, and we are taking little baby steps to make it a reality. This year we are starting three major programs which will begin the process of moving Droods to other worlds.
Space Station
Although we are definitely not the first to create a private space station around Droo, we are making the biggest space station ever. It'll be built for up to 20 Droods and will serve as a scientific facility and tourist destination. Because this is such an ambitious project, we obviously can't do it alone, so we have partnered up with Philippine Pacific Space and SpireAeronotics read below on what each member of the project will do.
Fusion Space:
- Propulsion Module
- Module One and Two
- Docking System
Module Two early design work
Spire Aeronotics:
- Crew capsule to take up to 3 people to the space station
- Cargo variant of the capsule to keep the station supplied
Early capsule design work
Philippine Pacific Space:
- Inflatable module for the station
- Cargo supply spacecraft to keep the station supplied
We are all looking forward to updating everyone about the progress of this space station later this year.
LunaRock Program & SpoopX partnership
In another step towards moving life to other worlds, we are developing two landers which will hopefully conduct sample return missions from two different regions of Luna! In addition to the sample return, we'd like to look for suitable sites for a Luna base, so we will be packing the landers full of experiments and equipment. We are looking to launch these landers during Q3 of 2024.
We aren't just stopping there either! We have signed a multi-year contract with SpoopX to start regular landings and sample return missions in an effort to research almost every region of Luna, and we hope to start launching from Q3 2024.
Early design work for LunaRock-1
2024 Progress & DSTM Incident
2024 has been a big year for Fusion Space so far! We've launched 3 successful missions delivering 6 satellites to space weighing a combined 1300kgs. With Fusion Two rapidly approaching, we are looking to launch a further 12 times this year.
Now we should discuss a little problem we had recently. On March 17th, the Fusion Air rocket launched the DSTM with the goal of putting 4 satellites into space. As you may know, this mission was cut short by a second stage ignition failure. During our investigation we concluded that the Demeter engine failed to ignite properly due to a lack of pressure in the LOX tank, meaning the LOX could not flow properly into the engine. After this, the engine automatically aborted the ignition sequence and the AFTS was engaged.
Staging during the DSTM
?Thank you for reading this short update! We can't wait to announce future projects in even more detail than shown here, and we hope you are all excited about the future.