A supply from California to Florida on Monday marked a brand new milestone for aerospace firm, Vaya Area. It obtained its first, full-sized liquid oxygen tank shell for its two-stage Dauntless rocket.
The corporate, primarily based in Cocoa, Florida, about 13 miles from the gates of Cape Canaveral Area Power Station, is working in the direction of its first orbital launch in 2026.
“We’ve been engaged on the design of the Dauntless car for nearly two years now, ever since we did our flight assessments out in Mohave to show out the final questions we had on the essential engine know-how,” stated Robert Fabian, Vaya Area’s Chief Working Officer. “And so, what we’re seeing now’s our dream, this, come to life. It’s a tremendous second for the corporate.”
The corporate was based in 2017 by Sid Gutierrez, a former NASA astronaut and Area Shuttle commander. He was the primary U.S.-born, Hispanic astronaut.
The identify “Vaya Area” stems from the ultimate name to the crew of STS-59 about two minutes earlier than liftoff when the Orbiter Take a look at Conductor in launch management stated, “Endeavour, shut and lock your visors, provoke O2 circulation, and ‘Vaya con Dios!” which interprets to “God be with you as you go.”
Monday’s LOX tank supply got here courtesy of a enterprise accomplice of Vaya Area: Scorpius Area Launch Firm, headquartered in Torrance, California. The corporate was additionally answerable for manufacturing the LOX tank used on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, named Odysseus.
“Initially, we have been plan B. That they had constructed their very own unique tanks forward of time. They weren’t understanding fairly in addition to they’d needed, however they’d us as a plan B,” stated Michael Morey, the senior structural engineer at Scorpius Area. “As soon as our tanks have been constructed and have been being manufactured and handed most of their assessments, they discovered, let’s make it plan A. So, our tanks turned put in into the Nova-C lander.”
The tank shell despatched to Vaya Area is the most important they’ve manufactured so far, measuring 22.6 ft in size (6.9 meters) and 6 ft (1.8 meters) in diameter. Earlier than transferring to this stage, the 2 corporations labored collectively for a few yr on the design and used a smaller mockup within the early days of understanding the manufacturing.
“We discovered a ton in really manufacturing this one when it comes to principally the stiffness of that one, because it’s such a small factor, it’s very simple to deal with,” stated Christopher Hayes, the buildings lead at Vaya Area. “With this one, we had to determine the way to tie all of the items which can be going collectively, collectively in addition to centering it.
“There’s additionally the truth that it’s actually huge. You really must construct a bunch of tooling and scaffolding to stand up there. And so, that was undoubtedly an enormous problem.”
At one level, Vaya Area was aiming to launch its Dauntless rocket in 2025, however Fabian stated at the moment their plans are for someday in 2026.
“We now have an extremely sophisticated Gantt chart of duties that need to be completed between from time to time,” Fabian stated. “And like all people else on this business, we function on the pace of cash and the pace of rules. So, we will have one of the best know-how on this planet. We’ve bought to ensure we’re working it safely and affordably whereas we do it.”
He stated a lot of the rest of 2024 will deal with testing their so-called hybrid vortex engines. They’re made utilizing 99 p.c recycled plastics and are powered by a mixture of strong thermoplastic materials mixed with liquid oxidizer.
That know-how shouldn’t be solely the guts of their forthcoming Dauntless rocket, nevertheless it has additionally caught the attention of the U.S. Division of Protection.
“As a result of our engine is as versatile as it’s, there’s methods to adapt it to different makes use of aside from spaceflight,” Fabian stated. “We at the moment have a cooperative analysis improvement settlement in place with the Military DEVCOM Aviation and Missile Middle, exploring the usage of our engines not with cryogenic oxidizer, however with a unique oxidizer in tactical discipline makes use of.
“And we’ve a SBIR, a small enterprise unbiased analysis, contract with the Air Power Analysis Laboratory on hypersonic functions for our engines. So, whereas we’re going full steam forward on Dauntless, our launch car, the protection facet can also be beginning to acquire floor in addition to some conceptual work we’ve been doing on in-space propulsion and the flexibility to make use of our engines for a high-thrust, high-delta v response motors that may transfer a satellite tv for pc out of the best way of incoming particles or different threats.”
As they proceed work on the rocket itself, Fabian stated they’re additionally getting ready to maneuver into Area Launch Complicated 13 (SLC-13) for launch actions. Vaya Area will share that pad with Arizona-based Phantom Area and its Daytona 1 rocket.
At present, SLC-13 operates as Touchdown Zone 1 (LZ-1) for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters.
“Mark Lester, [Phantom Space’s] COO who’s in control of launch pads on their finish, and I really knew one another earlier than, from when he was up operating Kodiak Spaceport,” Fabian stated. “And so, we’ve had an amazing working relationship between the 2 corporations. So, the very first thing we did was arrange the enterprise relationship. Nothing’s actual till the paperwork’s in place. That’s in place now.
“After which instantly, we began speaking with SpaceX and the native SpaceX crew has been very cooperative in serving to us get the knowledge that we want and dealing by means of them on how we do the transition, in order that they get their wants met as they construct out the brand new touchdown pads for the Falcon 9 booster with out giving up entry to the present ones within the course of.”
Fabian stated the Area Power would have allowed them to begin engaged on the pad round late January 2025, however he stated they gained’t want it till round mid-summer of that yr. He stated for now, they may work on testing a number of elements of the rocket, just like the newly delivered tank, in addition to their engines.
“That’s our distinctive know-how. That’s the stuff that’s not from some place else or completed some place else. The steering, navigation, management is confirmed, we’re utilizing business off-the-shelf avionics, stage sep methods, fairings,” Fabian stated. “We’re working with Scorpius on the tanks. These engines are ours.
“That stated, we’ve spent the final seven years refining a physics-based mannequin of how these engines work at any scale and we’ve completed 120 plus assessments of it, from 150 kilos of thrust, 5,000, quickly to be 22,000. And so, we’ve a very strong understanding of how that engine works, however seeing it at that 22,000 pound thrust check degree and characterizing its precise, actual world efficiency, that’s the guts of what we’re doing.”
