HyImpulse: Millions for Planned Space Rocket

German space company HyImpulse has raised 45 million euros in its first funding round, consisting of 15 million euros in venture capital and 30 million euros in subsidies from European institutions. This was reported by Handelsblatt on Thursday. The startup from Neuenstadt am Kocher, near Heilbronn, plans to invest the fresh capital in the development of its rockets. HyImpulse plans its first space flight for the year 2027.

“The schedule is highly ambitious,” admitted Christian Schmierer, CEO of HyImpulse, to Handelsblatt. However, he added that they had “gained a lot of experience” with a rocket launch the previous year. In early May last year, the company launched one of its new carrier rockets, developed and built in Germany, for the first time with the single-stage rocket SR75 for the first time. The twelve-meter-high and 2.5-ton rocket lifted off from the Koonibba test site in South Australia for a so-called suborbital flight. For regulatory reasons, the maximum flight altitude was limited to 60 km, so it did not reach space. With the 45 million euros raised from investors including Campus Founders Ventures, Helantic, and GIMIC, “we will go far,” said Schmierer. The company plans another suborbital flight for the summer of 2026; the following year, it aims to go even higher.

Technical Challenges

According to Handelsblatt, HIimpulse must overcome “major technical difficulties” if it wants to launch a rocket into space as planned in 2027. A suborbital launch is significantly easier than a flight into space, the newspaper states. It requires much less kinetic energy, and the structural loads on the rocket, such as vibration or heat, are considerably lower. CEO Schmierer, however, remains confident: “In 2027, we will very surely launch an orbital rocket,” he says.

In this context, Schmierer points to the research and development of recent years, especially in hybrid propulsion. Unlike other manufacturers, HyImpulse powers its rockets with a particularly inexpensive and safe fuel based on paraffin, a type of candle wax. Paraffin is used in solid form, which, according to Schmierer's assessment, eliminates half of all components such as pumps or valves compared to liquid engines. Cooling is also easier. However, hybrid engines have lower combustion efficiency; they therefore require more fuel. This makes the rocket heavier—but only by ten to fifteen percent, according to Schmierer.

Race for the First German Private Orbital Flight

HyImpulse is one of three companies competing for the first private space rocket from Germany. At the end of March, the Spectrum rocket from Munich-based startup Isar Aerospace failed on its first flight in Norway. Although it lasted only 30 seconds, it was considered a success from the company's perspective. Isar Aerospace plans to make a second attempt at the earliest in November, Handelsblatt writes.

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), a spin-off of the Bremen-based satellite manufacturer OHB, is also working on a space rocket. In January, the Bavarian company received what it claims to be the first European license for a privately developed orbital rocket. It is scheduled to launch later this year from one of the Scottish Shetland Islands.

(akn)