Italian launch startup Sidereus Space Dynamics has announced the completion of a short-duration hot fire test campaign for its MR-5 rocket engine.
Sidereus Space was founded in 2019 with the aim of developing a small reusable single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) launch vehicle called EOS. The vehicle will stand at 3.5 metres tall and will be capable of delivering 13-kilogram payloads to orbit and back again.
Due to its small size, EOS can’t use propulsion recovery. As a result, Sidereus plans to employ a skip trajectory during the reentry phase to reduce thermal and mechanical loads. Once lower down in the atmosphere, the vehicle will deploy a parafoil to allow for a precise landing.
As the company prepares for the first hop tests of EOS, it is hard at work developing its liquid oxygen and kerosene-powered MR-5 rocket engine. The MR stands for Motore a Razzo, which is Italian for rocket engine. Over an eight-week period ending in January, the company completed a total of ten short-duration hot fire tests of the engine. The successful completion of the test campaign has allowed the company to move forward with preparations for longer hot fire tests.
Sidereus Space secured an initial €1.5 million in Seed funding in late 2021. In September 2023, existing investors CDP Venture Capital and Primo Ventures reaffirmed their support with an additional €5.1 Million in Seed+ funding. The additional funding will allow the company to expand its team and launch the first test flights of EOS.
