An Edinburgh-based space firm is pioneering a new ‘self-consuming rocket engine’ after partnering with a European aerospace company.
Aurora Avionics has contracted with Alpha Impulsion, which has staff in France and Italy, to develop a rocket engine designed to consume part of its own structure as fuel – making future space missions more efficient and affordable.
The agreement will see Aurora Avionics provide an Engine Control Unit (ECU), and Power Distribution Unit (PDU), which will control key engine functions and manage the electrical power needed during operation.
Myles Bax, commercial lead at Aurora Avionics, said the partnership demonstrated how the company’s adaptable technology could support some of the most ambitious propulsion projects now emerging in the European space industry.
He said: “This is exactly the kind of programme our technology has been designed to support – one where new thinking, advanced engineering and reliable control systems all have to work together.
“Alpha Impulsion is taking a fundamentally different approach to rocket propulsion, with the potential to reduce complexity and cost while making better use of the vehicle itself.
“Our role is to give its engineers a dependable electronic backbone for the engine, controlling its operation and distributing power where it is needed.
“The initial contract is an important first step, but the wider opportunity is significant as the engine progresses through development and towards future missions.”
Alpha Impulsion is developing an autophage rocket engine, a propulsion concept in which the launch vehicle’s own structure is consumed during flight and used as propellant.
The approach is intended to reduce the amount of deadweight that must be carried throughout a mission, allowing the next generation of launch vehicles to operate more efficiently and lower the cost of delivering payloads into space.
The integrated avionics will be used in 2027 to control a 1kN rocket engine for alpha impulsion’s 4th hot-fire campaign.
Founded in 2022, Alpha Impulsion already has teams in France and Italy and is drawing on expertise from across Europe’s aerospace sector as it develops the technology.
Its long-term aim is to reduce launchers’ propulsion costs by 80% and create more efficient solutions for payloads up to 500 kg, while strengthening Europe’s autonomy and export capabilities in space access.
Marius Celette, chief executive officer at Alpha Impulsion, said: “Developing a new propulsion system requires every part of the vehicle to perform reliably and work seamlessly with the wider engine architecture.
“The control and power systems are central to that process, and this partnership gives us access to flexible avionics technology that can support the engine as it moves through successive stages of development.
“Our focus is on challenging established approaches to propulsion and creating systems that can make future European space missions more efficient and commercially viable.”
