The rise of small satellites and large constellations is changing the satellite industry. Due to the growth of the small satellite market, launch has become the bottleneck of the industry. According to MT Aerospace the micro-launcher market will grow as much as four to seven times in the next decade, with a full market potential of up to €7B. The RRTB consortium believes that a tailored service for access to space for small satellites is required. However, micro-launchers regularly have higher launch costs per kilogram than bigger launchers. Today, the cornerstone of this emerging market is the economic viability of launching small payloads at high frequencies to dedicated orbits. According to the RRTB consortium, technological development and vehicle reuse are fundamental steps to bring down the cost of launch and access-to-space. This project investigates the recovery and return to base system (RRTB) for the first stage of the MESO launch vehicle. The recovery and return to base system is divided into two parts: 1. Passive atmospheric reentry: The atmospheric reentry of the first stage of the vehicle will be a passive reentry. During the project this phase, together with its required hardware, will be investigated and defined during the project by Pangea Aerospace together with Deimos Space and VKI. 2. Horizontal landing: Landing of the first stage of the vehicle is intended to be performed using a novel patent pending horizontal landing technology that uses electric ducted fans situated in both sides of the first stage of the launch vehicle to brake the fall of first stage, control it and perform a safe landing. This phase will be studied by TUM and Pangea Aerospace. Furthermore during the project the structural design and analysis of the MESO launch vehicle, as well as an investigation of the launch vehicle's propellant tanks (a critical component for cost-efficient reuse), will be performed. This work will involve RWTH, Heron, TAS, Toseda and Pangea.

Current launchers (ARIANE6 and VEGA C) will guarantee Europe’s independent access to space for the high-end satellite market. These launchers however are significantly less attractive for classes of smaller satellites. The SMILE initiative therefore addresses reliable, affordable, quick and frequent access to space for the emerging market of small satellites up to 50 kg, fulfilling the needs from the European space RTD community and commercial initiatives to put satellites into preferred orbits within a preferred time window. Herewith a market niche is addressed, which is projected to grow significantly in the coming decades and presently lacks availability of a European launcher. The project focuses on research and innovation to obtain European solutions enabling the development and realization of such a launcher system. Main objectives are to: • develop a concept for an innovative, cost-effective European launcher system for small satellites (target price below 50.000 Euro/kg) • design a Europe-based ground facility for these launcher systems • increase the Technology Readiness Level of several critical technologies required for such a launcher including the development and demonstration of component prototypes • create a roadmap defining the development plan for the launcher system from a technical operational and economical perspective These objectives are achieved through combined research into a novel and innovative launcher system following a multidisciplinary concurrent engineering design and optimization approach. The overall design and development process encompasses technology and process advances aiming at cost reduction, such as series production, re-usability, and the applicability of European industrial grade components. The consortium is composed of organizations in relevant fields from eight European countries, from well-established and experienced SMEs to young and innovative start-ups.