Industry | Space transportation, rocket manufacturing |
---|---|
Founded | 2019 ![]() |
Founder | Jim Cantrell, Michael D'Angelo |
Headquarters | , United States |
Website | www |
Phantom Space Corporation is an American space transportation and rocket manufacturing startup based in Tucson, Arizona. [1]
Phantom Space Corporation was founded in 2019 by Jim Cantrell and Michael D'Angelo.[ citation needed ] Chris Thompson, the second employee at SpaceX and ten-year veteran, joined Phantom Space in October of 2021 as Phantom's Chief Technology Officer in charge of launch and satellite system development. [2]
In May 2021, it acquired StratSpace, a satellite program designer and manager [3] Cantrell founded in 2000. [4] The acquisition made Phantom Space the first 100% U.S.-based satellite supply chain in its effort to mass produce rockets on a large scale. [5]
In August 2021, the company acquired space systems developer Micro Aerospace Solutions (MAS) operating out of Melbourne, Florida. [6]
In 2023, Phantom signed an agreement with Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) to collaborate on missions at the Arnhem Space Centre in Arnhem Land, a remote location in the Northern Territory of Australia. Phantom has links to the US Department of Defense, and an ELA spokesperson said that the launch site could one day be used for missile testing and development. Phantom hopes to fire rockets from the ASC site by 2025. While the main focus is on commercial uses at the site, the potential for involvement in defense has raised concerns among the local community. [7]
Function | Small-lift space launch vehicle |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Phantom Space Corporation |
Country of origin | USA |
Size | |
Height | 18 m |
Diameter | 1.5 m |
Stages | 2 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | 180 kg |
Associated rockets | |
Comparable | Electron |
Launch history | |
Status | In development |
Launch sites | Cape Canaveral SLC-13 Vandenberg SLC-5 |
Total launches | 0 |
First flight | 2025 |
First stage | |
Engines | 9x Hadley |
Thrust | 200 kN |
Propellant | Liquid oxygen/RP-1 |
Second stage | |
Engines | 1x Hadley Vacuum |
Thrust | 28.8 kN |
Propellant | Liquid oxygen/RP-1 |
As of March 2024 [update] the company is building a two-stage rocket called Daytona. As designed, the vehicle will be 18 meters tall, 1.5 meters in diameter. It will be able to loft 180 kilograms to low Earth orbit for a claimed launch price of $4 million. It will use nine Hadley engines produced by Ursa Major Technologies on its first stage, and one Hadley Vacuum engine on its second stage. [8] The first launch is projected to take place in Q4 2024. [9]
Date and time, UTC | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Q4 2025 [10] | Vandenberg SLC-5 | TBA | LEO | TBA | |
Maiden flight of Daytona | |||||
Q1 2026 | TBD | Hurricane Hunter x ? | LEO | Tropical Weather Analytics | |
Tropical Weather Analytics, Inc. (TWA), with a revolutionary 3D measurement capability for improved hurricane forecasting and weather intelligence, is announcing a strategic partnership with Phantom Space Corporation (Phantom) to design, manufacture, launch, and operate its Hurricane Hunter Satellite Constellation. | |||||
2026 | Vandenberg SLC-5 | AFNIO × ? | LEO | Ingenu | |
Will launch "the majority of" Ingenu's 72-satellite AFNIO constellation. | |||||
2026 | Vandenberg SLC-5 | TBA | LEO | TBA | |
CubeSat Launch Initiative contract awarded by NASA. | |||||
Daytona II is an upgraded version of the Daytona I rocket, It will use one Ripley engine on the first stage and one vacuum-optimized Hadley engine on the second stage, the rocket will be capable of delivering 440 kg to LEO and has been advertised at 4 million USD per launch. launches are planned to start in 2027 [11]
Daytona III is the third upgrade of the Daytona rocket, the first stage has a second Ripley engine and the second stage has one vacuum-optimized Hadley engine. The second stage will be capable of delivering 950 kg to LEO, the maiden launch is planned for 2028 [12]
Merlin is a family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX. They are currently a part of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, and were formerly used on the Falcon 1. Merlin engines use RP-1 and liquid oxygen as rocket propellants in a gas-generator power cycle. The Merlin engine was originally designed for sea recovery and reuse, but since 2016 the entire Falcon 9 booster is recovered for reuse by landing vertically on a landing pad using one of its nine Merlin engines.
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. is a publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider. Its Electron orbital rockets launches small satellites, and has launched 53 times as of 2024. A sub-orbital Electron variant called HASTE serves other needs. The company also supplies satellite components including star trackers, reaction wheels, solar cells and arrays, satellite radios, separation systems, as well as flight and ground software.
Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, is a three-stage launch vehicle, the second one developed by South Korea and the successor to Naro-1 (KSLV-1). Nuri is developed by Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). All three stages use indigenously developed launch vehicle engines, making Nuri the first indigenously developed South Korean orbital launch vehicle.
LauncherOne was a two-stage orbital launch vehicle developed and flown by Virgin Orbit that had operational flights from 2021 to 2023, after being in development from 2007 to 2020. It was an air-launched rocket, designed to carry smallsat payloads of up to 300 kg (660 lb) into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), following air launch from a carrier aircraft at high altitude. The rocket was carried to the upper atmosphere on a modified Boeing 747-400, named Cosmic Girl, and released over ocean. Initial work on the program was done by Virgin Galactic, another Virgin Group subsidiary, before a separate entity — Virgin Orbit — was formed in 2017 to complete development and operate the launch service provider business separately from the passenger-carrying Virgin Galactic business.
Astra Space, Inc., formerly known as Ventions, LLC from 2005 - 2016, is an American space company based in Alameda, California, with facilities in Sunnyvale, California and Atwater, California. The company was initially an aerospace technology research firm that focused on SBIR contracts, developing small rocket engines for use on launch vehicles and satellite propulsion. In 2012, the company shifted to developing launch vehicles and was selected for the DARPA ALASA program, eventually leading to the development and launch of the Astra Rocket series of launch vehicle utilizing both government and private funding after reincorporating itself to Astra Space, Inc. in 2016. The company would have their first successful launch in 2021, nine years after the start of development, after 6 previous failed attempts.
Firefly Aerospace is an American private aerospace firm based in Cedar Park, Texas, that develops small and medium launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit. The current company was formed when the assets of the former company Firefly Space Systems were acquired by EOS Launcher in March 2017, which was then renamed Firefly Aerospace. Firefly's stated purpose is to increase access to space, similar to other private spaceflight companies.
Vector Launch, Inc. is an American space technology company which aims to launch suborbital and orbital payloads. Vector Launch declared bankruptcy in December 2019 and re-emerged in October 2020.
Jim Cantrell is an American entrepreneur, mechanical engineer and road racer. He is the CEO and co-founder of Phantom Space Corporation, which aims to build space transportation technology. After working at the French Space Agency CNES and the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, he worked as an independent consultant to aerospace companies for fifteen years and was on the founding teams of SpaceX and Moon Express. Cantrell was a consultant for SpaceX and Elon Musk's industry mentor when SpaceX launched in 2002.
Firefly Alpha is a two-stage orbital expendable small lift launch vehicle developed by the American company Firefly Aerospace to compete in the commercial small satellite launch market. Alpha is intended to provide launch options for both full vehicle and rideshare customers.
Gilmour Space Technologies is a venture-funded Australian aerospace company that is developing hybrid-propellant rocket engines and associated technologies to support the deployment of a low-cost launch vehicle.
Relativity Space Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Long Beach, California. Relativity Space is developing manufacturing technologies, launch vehicles, and rocket engines for commercial orbital launch services. The company is notable for manufacturing most of their Terran 1 and Terran R rocket parts using 3D printing. As of April 2024, Terran R is on track for initial launch in 2026.
Raptor is a family of rocket engines developed and manufactured by SpaceX. It is the third rocket engine in history designed with a full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) fuel cycle, and the first such engine to power a vehicle in flight. The engine is powered by cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen, a mixture known as methalox.
Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited is an Indian private aerospace manufacturer and commercial launch service provider headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana. The company was founded by former engineers and scientists from ISRO. Currently it is aiming to develop and launch its own series of small-lift launch vehicles especially crafted for the small satellite market.
AgniKul Cosmos Private Limited is an Indian private aerospace manufacturer and commercial launch service provider based in National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) of IIT Madras, Chennai. The start up aims to develop and launch its own small-lift launch vehicle such as the Agnibaan, capable of placing 100 kg (220 lb) payload into a 700 km (430 mi) orbit.
Equatorial Space Systems PTE LTD. also known as Equatorial Space, is a Singapore-based company that develops hybrid-engine rockets and space launch services. The company was founded by Simon Gwozdz and Praveen Ganapathi Perumal in 2017 in Singapore, with the goal to develop low-cost, safe and eco-friendly space launch vehicles.
Space Pioneer, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology Co., Ltd., is a Chinese aerospace company developing reusable orbital rocket technology—both launch vehicles and liquid rocket engines—to access the market for low-cost space launch services. The company is aiming to meet launch requirements for both the Chinese national satellite internet project and also the CNSA solicitation for resupply of the Tiangong space station.
The Arnhem Space Centre is a commercial spaceport near Nhulunbuy, in Arnhem Land, Australia. The facility is owned and operated by Equatorial Launch Australia, both of which were founded by Scott Wallis in 2016. ASC was the location of NASA's first non-orbital sounding rocket launch from a commercial spaceport outside the United States, which took place on 27 June 2022.
Agnibaan is a mobile small-lift launch system currently under development, produced by Agnikul Cosmos in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is capable of placing a 100 kg (220 lb) satellite into a 700 km (430 mi) orbit. The rocket will be 18 meters long with a diameter of 1.3 meters and a lift-off mass of 14,000 kg (31,000 lb). The Agnibaan rocket has three stages. The first stage is powered by seven Agnilet engines. The second stage is powered by the same Agnilet engine which will have a larger nozzle than the sea level nozzle to optimize it for vacuum.
Ursa Major Technologies is an American aerospace company founded in 2015 and based in Berthoud, Colorado. The company produces rocket engines and sells them to space launch and hypersonics companies, and the U.S. Government.
The Ursa Major Technologies Hadley is a 22-kilonewton (5,000 lbf) thrust Kerosene/LOX oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle rocket engine.