Alpha Impulsion successfully ignites the world’s largest autophage rocket engine
Agen, May 27th, 2025 – The French-Italian startup Alpha Impulsion, specialising in space propulsion, has reached a historic milestone: the successful ignition of the largest autophage rocket engine in the world. The startup achieved its goal of igniting the engine followed by a full thrust burn.
This was the culmination of a six days campaign at Agen airport. On the morning of May 27th, the team assembled the engine for the final test, installed it on the bench, and mounted the fuel fuselage – a unique innovative feature of the technology. In an autophage engine, the rocket’s fuselage is the fuel. At 3:20 PM, the engine was successfully ignited, during a 17 second test.
Despite minor damage to the thermal protections, the test achieved all technical objectives: to confirm the viability of the autophage engine thanks to stable ignition, controlled combustion, use of the fuselage as fuel, structural integrity of the fuselage under operational pressures, seal tightness of dynamic gaskets, and correct functioning of oxidizer filling procedures.
“This is an extraordinary success for Alpha Impulsion and the entire space industry. I am immensely proud of our team, who, with determination and limited resources, have reached a decisive milestone for the future of propulsion. We have demonstrated that it is possible to develop an alternative and innovative technology capable of significantly reducing the cost of space access. This test sends a strong message: Europe can be a leading player in the race for space innovation.”
– Marius Celette, CEO and co-founder
The success of the test proves the feasibility of autophage propulsion and confirms the technological path chosen by the company, as well as its development strategy based on rapid iterations and testing
The focus now shifts to the development of two key commercial products: Opal, a propulsion system for satellites, and the 150 kN Garnet engine for micro-launcher. The first Opal components are already in production, with the goal of completing a development test by the end of 2025 and starting the qualification campaign in 2026.
