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"We're signaling Germany's prowess as a spacefaring nation and
expanding Europe's access to space," HyImpulse's chief executive
Mario Kobald said in a statement.
The 12-metre, 2.5-tonne test rocket dubbed "SR75" lifted off
shortly after 0500 GMT from a launch site in Koonibba, South
Australia.
It is capable of carrying small satellites weighing up to 250 kg
(551 pounds) to an altitude of up to 250 km (155 miles) while
being fuelled by paraffin, or candle wax, and liquid oxygen.
Paraffin can be used as a cheaper and safer alternative fuel for
rockets, reducing satellite transportation costs by as much as
50%, according to HyImpulse.
The company, which has 65 employees and was spun off from
Germany's space agency DLR, said it already had orders for
satellite transportation worth 100 million euros ($105 million).
The project was mostly privately financed with "some public
backing", the startup's statement said.
Hyimpulse aims to expand as demand for commercial satellites
grows, and it is eyeing 700 million euros worth of annual sales
by 2032.
By the end of next year, it plans to launch "SL-1", a larger,
multi-stage rocket capable of deploying satellites weighing up
to 600 kg into low Earth orbits.
($1 = 0.9314 euros)
(Reporting by Hakan Ersen, Writing by Andrey Sychev, Editing by
Friederike Heine and Gareth Jones)
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