Aerospike rocket engines are the stuff of legend in the space industry. Conceived in the 1960s, their unique spiked-nozzle design promises better efficiency, reusability, and performance at all altitudes. But their complexity — and the shutdown of major space programmes towards the end of the 20th century — meant they never entered the mainstream.
But now, startups are dusting off old designs and using new technologies to revive aerospike engines for modern spaceflight. One of these ventures is Spain’s Pangea Aerospace.
Founded in 2018, Pangea has been operating under the radar for most of its seven-year history. But today, the company announced a €23mn Series A funding round as it looks to ramp up development of its 3D-printed aerospike rocket engine.
Among the investors was André-Hubert Roussel, former CEO of ArianeGroup, who oversaw the development of Europe’s only heavy-lift rocket in operation, Ariane 6. Roussel joined Pangea’s board last year.
“It’s incredibly valuable to have such a figure investing in and advising us as we embark on our next stage of growth,” Pangea’s CCO and co-founder Xavier Llairó told TNW.
Roussel praised the company’s plans on LinkedIn. “Strong team, strong technology, building the future of space propulsion,” he said.
An aerospike rocket revolution?
In 2021, Pangea successfully conducted a hot-fire test of Demo-P1, the world’s first aerospike methalox engine.
“We’ve been silently making breakthroughs in cooling techniques, additive manufacturing, and materials science that are now paying off,” said Llairó. “We’re sure we can produce aerospike engines at a low cost.”
Pangea, which has headquarters in Barcelona, Spain and Toulouse, France, is now directing most of its focus towards ARCOS, slated to become the world’s first flight-ready aerospike engine.
ARCOS is designed to be reused up to 10 times and to power both a rocket’s booster and upper stage. And like the Demo-P1, it will be 3D-printed.
Pangea, in partnership with Aenium Engineering, has developed a proprietary copper-alloy material that can make an engine capable of withstanding the extreme thermal and mechanical loads of rocket launch and flight. The team has also developed a way to quickly deposit it in layers using a 3D printer.
“The result is a very low cost, very strong combustion chamber that can withstand the high heat and pressure,” said Llairó. “With this technology, we’ve been able to produce things that were simply unproducible before.”
Pangea’s aerospike engines are 30% more efficient than traditional bell engines, delivering 15% higher overall efficiency, and enabling up to 30% more payload capacity to orbit, the company said in a statement.
The new space boom
Pangea aims to build rocket propulsion systems for all rocket sizes, from microlaunchers to heavy-lifters. Last year, the European Space Agency (ESA) contracted the startup to design a very high-thrust rocket engine, which could power future European heavy and super-heavy rockets.
However, Pangea mainly looks to cater to the emerging flock of private space companies. The startup says it wants to be the Rolls-Royce of rockets — the leading engine supplier in the sector.
Pangea is currently testing its technology in partnership with three private space companies, Llairó told TNW. “Two European, one American,” he said, refusing to elaborate further.
Europe’s most promising rocket launch startups right now include Germany’s Isar Aerospace and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) and Spain’s PLD Space. All three are set to blast off on their maiden flights this year, although Isar looks to be the first. Then there are the more established European heavyweights, Arianespace, a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, and Avio, the Italian makers of Vega-C.
All these companies are looking to tap a booming global space economy, forecast to be worth $1.8 trillion by 2035. For Pangea, that means more customers.
Llairó also thinks space tech offers an important strategic lever for Europe, which is pushing to ramp up its defence capabilities and tech sovereignty amid cooling relations with the US and threats from Russia.
“Space is crucial for our defence and autonomy in Europe,” he said. “We have an opportunity to build a strong local space economy [here] and to be leaders in certain areas, like propulsion systems. However, it’s an opportunity that will go to waste unless governments invest more [in space startups] and take a risk like they do in the US.”
