EXOS Aerospace Systems & Technologies, Inc | |
Type: | Privately held |
Foundation: | 2014 |
Key People: | David Mitchell – PresidentJohn Quinn – CEORussell Blink – CTO |
Location: | Greenville, Texas |
Num Employees: | 12 (2020) |
Industry: | Aerospace |
Products: | Rocket vehicles |
Revenue: | Not disclosed |
Predecessor: | Armadillo Aerospace |
Exos Aerospace Systems & Technologies is an aerospace manufacturer and developer of reusable launch systems intended to support uncrewed orbital spaceflight launches, and is based in Caddo Mills, Texas.
Exos Aerospace is based on both technologies and people from Armadillo Aerospace, a company founded by video game developer John Carmack.[1] Armadillo had competed for the Ansari X Prize for commercial human suborbital spaceflight in the early 2000s and later developed a series of suborbital vehicles.[1] In August 2013, Carmack placed Armadillo in "hibernation" following the crash of their STIG-B rocket and began "actively looking for outside investors to restart work on the company’s rockets".[2]
Exos Aerospace was founded in May 2014; former employees of Armadillo Aerospace were a significant part of the founding team. Exos was created to carry on the reusable commercial spacecraft started by Armadillo Aerospace.[3] Exos even set up their operations in one of Armadillo's former facilities at the Caddo Mills Municipal Airport, in Texas.[3] In 2015, the assets of Armadillo Aerospace were formally sold to Exos Aerospace.
Exos Aerospace is focused on suborbital research rockets with an intent of initially launching micro satellites and eventually progressing to autonomous spaceflight. Exos Aerospace is developing the SARGE family for its suborbital vehicles. All research and development is based at the new manufacturing facility in Greenville, Texas. This is inclusive of rocket design, fabrication, assembly, storage and testing. Engines up to 5,000-lbf nominal thrust can be tested on a static test skid at the hangar complex. The company is a NASA REDDI provider and is targeting to qualify to be a NASA IDIQ provider under the Flight Opportunities program.[1]
The SARGE (aka SARGE M1), an acronym of Suborbital Autonomous Rocket with GuidancE, is a suborbital rocket based on the STIG-B rocket platform developed as part of Armadillo Aerospace's lunar lander program. The SARGE vehicle employs a LOX-ethanol propulsion module based on the LE23000FC series engines, producing approximately 5500 lbs of thrust.[4] The airframe is a reusable sounding rocket with a 20inches diameter, and is 36feet tall. Pressurized helium cold gas thrusters provide attitude control for pitch-roll-yaw and pointing capability. Payload must fit inside a 20inches diameter cylinder, be no more than 36inches tall (in its standard configuration) and weigh no more than 50kg (110lb). Exos plans to use this technology as the design basis for a reusable (first stage) launch vehicle capable of carrying to low Earth orbit.
The SARGE suborbital sounding rocket is designed to be reusable. As of 27 October 2019, no SARGE rocket had reached its intended suborbital altitude. However, the same rocket was launched four times between 2018 and 2019, demonstrating its reusability.
EXOS Aerospace operates from Spaceport America in New Mexico. On 14 February 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration issued Exos Aerospace a Reusable Vehicle Mission Launch License.
The third flight was carrying educational, research and technology demonstration payloads for nine customers. Among them were a biomedical experiment from the Mayo Clinic and a dust aggregation experiment from University of Central Florida. The status of payloads is unknown,[5] but they were probably recovered intact.
Exos Aerospace determined that the fourth flight experienced a structural failure. They plan to build a second SARGE rocket to continue flying. (They have built only one; the same rocket was used on all four launches in 2018–2019.)[7]