Orbital Machines

Idea

Introduction

Orbital Machines specialises in electric propellant pumps, a key technology for the entrepreneurial NewSpace era.

2020 set a record of $8.9 billion worth of private investments in space companies. The industry is expected to grow to a $1.4 trillion economy by the 2030s.

One of the leading NewSpace industries is small launch vehicles (SLVs) which offer orbital launches for small satellites. Today, only a few SLVs are operational while over 100 are in development. A CAGR of 30.5% is expected which would lead to commercial revenues surpassing $2.2 billion by 2028.

Electric propellant pumps have recently become viable for SLVs as they provide less risk, have lower costs and a reduced complexity. Comparatively, the current “turbopump” technology is a major source of launch failures and ascribed to be 55% of the cost for such rockets.

Electric pumps can be adjusted more easily, supplied to multiple SLVs and are also an upcoming technology for key applications related to Moon and Mars missions.

Substantial accomplishments to date

We are a spin-out of Copenhagen Suborbitals, and since 2019, have developed and lab-tested an electric propellant pump for the Spica rocket (100kN engine).

This rocket engine is three times as powerful as any previous rocket engine driven by an electric pump. A full-scale rocket engine test is planned for 2021.

In 2021, we signed our first commercial customer, conducting preliminary studies of electric propellant pumps for Venture Orbital System’s nanosatellite launcher, Zephyr. Zephyr is designed for a 70kg payload capacity.

Our product has received interest from a significant number of SLV companies. We are also in promising talks about using our technology in several projects related to Moon and Mars activity.

We have developed a parametric design to rapidly adjust electric pumps to different types of rocket engines. This is the basis for reducing costs and risks for the industry, and the origin of our business idea.

We have previously raised €350.000 in soft funding and €380.000 from investors in equity crowdfunding. We will continue to match the equity funding with soft funding to add value for every cent invested.

Recently, we have expanded our team by adding engineering proficiency and industry experience and opened a subsidiary in Berlin for testing and production. This is in addition to our HQ in Norway. We are now a strong team of 18 ambitious employees, consultants and interns working on making access to space safer and more affordable.

Monetisation strategy

For SLV projects, we generate revenue in two phases:

Phase 1: We generate project-based revenue by adjusting our parametric design to fit the customer’s engine and performing the necessary tests and verifications.

Phase 2: We enter a long-term contract with our customer once they start to commercially launch their satellites into orbit and will make revenue for each satellite launch.

As reusability is a growing trend among SLVs, we are implementing a pay-per-use model for our pumps while still gaining revenue for each launch and creating recurring income.

Use of proceeds

To maximise profits from the current market situation and the technology’s abilities/potential, we aim to start several customer projects simultaneously to establish ourselves as a leading supplier of electric propellant pumps.

The proceeds will be used to fund our organisational growth, to keep advancing our ongoing projects and to follow up and implement new customer projects. The scope and speed of these activities will depend on the final amount raised in this campaign.

40% Research/development for ongoing projects with Copenhagen Suborbitals and Venture Orbital Systems.

30% Sales activity including following up on and implementing new customer projects.

15% Investments in infrastructure and similar areas.

15% Administration and other tasks.