A 2018 View of the Impending Small Launch Vehicle Boom

摘要

The 2010's has seen a dramatic increase in potential small launch vehicle contenders, defined as rockets capable of carrying at most 1000 kg to Low Earth Orbit. Spurred on by government programs such as the European Horizon 2020 or the American Venture Class Launch Services, and the rapid proliferation of CubeSats and nanosatellites, more than 70 different commercial, semi-commercial, and government entities worldwide are now working on new entrants of this class. To date the most successful small launcher, the Northrop Grumman Pegasus has launched 43 times, but its flight rate has dropped to less than one a year. At the same time launch opportunities on ESPA rings, secondary slots on larger launchers, and CubeSat missions as cargo to the International Space Station have proliferated. Despite this seemingly bleak market environment, new entrants have emerged looking for a new magic formula. This paper presents an overview of the small satellite launch systems under development today. Capabilities, stated performance goals, cost, and funding sources are compared where available. This paper is a yearly update of a paper originally presented at the 2015 Conference on Small Satellites [1] and subsequently at the 2016 International Astronautical Congress [2]. In the intervening four years. the number of systems known to be under development to the authors has doubled. At the same time at least ten systems have ceased development either due to company bankruptcy, technical challenges, or simple attrition. The authors welcome any comments, feedback, or corrections.