Italian rocket builder Sidereus Space Dynamics has completed the first integrated system test of its EOS rocket.
Founded in 2019, Sidereus Space Dynamics is developing a diminutive rocket called EOS, which will be capable of delivering 13-kilogram payloads to low Earth orbit. Standing at just 4.2 metres in height, the single-stage-to-orbit rocket is designed to be reusable and employs a parafoil for recovery operations.
On 30 June, the company performed the first fully integrated system test of an EOS rocket. During the test, the rocket’s MR-5 main engine was successfully fired for approximately 11 seconds.
With the integrated testing now underway, the company is beginning to prepare to conduct the first low-altitude EOS test flights.
“This marks an important step in the development process of EOS, paving the way for optimization ahead of our upcoming milestone,” Sidereus COO Luca Principi told European Spaceflight. “We are now preparing for a 500-meter flight test to validate subsystems in flight and further optimize EOS in a controlled environment, advancing towards experimental orbital flights.”
The company is currently exploring whether or not to recover the EOS prototype following its initial low-altitude test.
In September 2023, Sidereus Space Dynamics announced that it had raised €5.1 million in new funding. The round included contributions from existing investors Primo Space and CDP Venture Capital SGR via the Italia Venture II – Fondo Imprese Sud fund. To date, the company has raised a total of €6.6 million. While this is a fraction of the funding companies like Isar Aerospace, MaiaSpace, and Orbex have attracted, the company’s CEO Mattia Barbarossa has previously stated that the company intends to “reshape spaceflight in a fraction of the time and with limited resources.”
