“Ariane 5 dominates the global commercial launch market for large satellites. More than half of the big platforms sent up to provide the world with TV, phone and internet services are lofted by the European vehicle.”
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2013
Europe has always been a leading space power. We were the first to land on another planet’s moon (Huygens Titan lander) and on a comet (Rosetta/Philae). Europe is the largest provider of Earth observation data in the world (Copernicus). In the race of space transportation however, we are lagging behind. A new age is coming, with worldwide advancements in the human spaceflight, reusability or super-heavy launch vehicles.
Europe needs more than simply catching up. It needs a breakthrough.
The company
To propel the world unto the new space age, Alpha Impulsion is developing a rupture in propulsion architecture. Our mission is to provide the most cost-effective, most accessible and greenest way of accessing space. For this, our patented technology allows us to build a simplified, single-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle with the potential to divide costs by 10 and environmental footprint by 5 before the end of the decade.
Our technology
Sounds too good to be true ?
“Autophage hybrid propulsion” is an overhaul of the classical launcher architecture, using fuel as structure. The rocket’s body burns progressively, like an upside down candle, getting shorter during the flight. The vehicle consumes itself, until only the engine and the payload remain. Launch vehicles include multiple stages, with multiple engines, tanks, structure and separation systems, all to be manufactured, transported, integrated, launched and carried to orbit or dropped in the sea, at a great cost for the customer and the environment. Our zero-waste technology is an enabler for an inexpensive service with a much lower environmental impact, simplifying the rocket to only one engine and upper structure.
Our current activities
Our development has received strong support from CNES and interest from other European space agencies. Started in 2023, the AMBRE program aims to demonstrate the flight of an autophage rocket on a small-scale demonstrator (1kN of thrust). Design has been completed and engine testing is currently ongoing, leading to the flight of the first autophage rocket before the end of the year. The startup has raised close to 1M€ from public and private sources to date. Development has already started on our next demonstrator, LAPIS LAZULI.
