TAMPA, Fla. — Innovative Rocket Technologies’ (iRocket) plans for a fully reusable satellite launcher got a boost from the first flight test of IRX-100, a short-range missile the startup hopes will generate near-term revenue to support its orbital Shockwave vehicle.
According to the New York–based venture, IRX-100 verified fin deployment and spin stabilization after launching vertically from a tube Oct. 9 from California’s Mojave Desert, demonstrating early performance in line with the U.S. military’s Hydra 70 rocket system.
Chris Mignano, iRocket’s director of manufacturing and business development, pointed to “an extreme need” from U.S. and allied forces for small, low-cost interceptors as inventories decline.
“iRocket heard this call and acted quickly, turning around an entirely new system design and flight tested variant in under 6 weeks while also bringing solid rocket motor propulsion into the list of our key competencies,” he said via email.
While the 91-centimeter-tall IRX-100 uses a solid motor, iRocket plans to apply the same rapid-prototyping and digital-engineering methods to Shockwave, a 38-meter-tall vehicle that would use liquid oxygen and methane to deploy small and medium-sized payloads.
Mignano said the seven-year-old startup aims to conduct hundreds of static-fire tests of a full-scale Shockwave engine over the coming months, targeting flight tests in late 2026 and 2027.
Going public
The test comes as iRocket works toward a planned merger with BPGC Acquisition Corp., a publicly listed shell company backed by former U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The parties have signed a definitive agreement and aim to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by early November.
BPGC raised $345 million in its March 2021 initial public offering (IPO), though the special purpose acquisition company’s (SPAC) regulatory filings show most of that capital has since been withdrawn through investor redemptions. The merger would value the combined company at about $400 million, before potential earn-outs tied to share-price performance.
By targeting defense demand, IRX-100 could provide an additional avenue to help meet the intensive capital requirements of developing an orbital launch program.
“We identified a massive opportunity to quickly build up automated, [artificial intelligence- and model-based systems engineering-enabled] manufacturing floors and workflows to support smaller munition systems with immediate customer need,“ Mignano said, “which can easily be transitioned to prototyping capability useful for our liquid rocket engines.”
He said IRX-100 is designed to integrate with land- and air-based launch systems to provide a low-cost interceptor when equipped with partner-supplied guidance packages. General Dynamics is currently the prime supplier of Hydra 70 motors, while BAE Systems provides the laser-guidance kit.
“There are active requests on the street for increased supply of these systems as foreign conflicts heat up and stockpiles are depleted, with the government looking to increase throughput and production by 2-3x at least,” he continued.
“We also plan to provide an extended range and improved version of the rocket motor in addition to building out the already fielded system.”
The test flight helped advance iRocket’s technology-readiness level, a key step toward securing funds to build Hydra 70-class missiles and integrate with more advanced interceptor programs as it prepares for additional tests.
The company is also working with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop and test rocket propulsion hardware, and secured a contract from the country’s Space Force in 2023 to demonstrate a reusable engine for small launch vehicles.
In August, iRocket announced a five-year agreement worth a total $640 million with SpaceBelt KSA, a Saudi Arabia-based satellite infrastructure initiative planning to deploy communications and data networks, to provide launch integration, mission planning and propulsion systems support.