Radian Aerospace is an American aerospace company based in Seattle, Washington. The company is developing a horizontal take-off/horizontal landing, single-stage-to-orbit, fully reusable spaceplane concept called Radian One.
 | |
| Company type | Private incorporated company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
| Website | radianaerospace |
History edit
Radian was founded in 2016.[1] In January 2022, the company closed a $27.5 million seed round led by venture capital fund Fine Structure Ventures.[2]
Radian One edit
Radian released their latest vehicle design of Radian One to the public in April 2024. [3] Radian One is designed to carry up to five crew members to low Earth orbit, with as much as 5,000 pounds of payload going up and 10,000 pounds going down. The delta-winged plane will be launched from a rocket-powered sled. Radian One is expected to land on any 10,000 ft (3,000 m) runway and fly again in 48 hours. [4] The company aims to put the full-scale Radian One through its first flight by 2030.
Thermal Protection System edit
Radian is currently developing a thermal protection system that’s begun to undergo testing in partnership with NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio.
Propulsion edit
Radian One’s propulsion system will have methane and liquid oxygen as propellants. The engines are to be built in partnership with a company yet to be named publicly.
Structure edit
The spaceplane will be built out of carbon matrix composites. As of March 2024, the company provided a sneak peek of their prototype composite tank under construction at the University of Washington's Advanced Composite Center, in partnership with Janicki Industries and Electroimpact.
Target markets edit
The company is focusing on research, space manufacturing, terrestrial observation, and rapid global delivery to Earth destinations. Radian has penned launch agreements with governments and commercial firms.[4]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Berger, Eric (January 19, 2022). "Radian announces plans to build one of the holy grails of spaceflight". Ars Technica.
- ^ "Radian Aerospace raises seed round to fund work on spaceplane". SpaceNews. January 19, 2022.
- ^ "Radian Aerospace updates its space plane design and hints at coming attractions". GeekWire. April 2, 2024.
- ^ a b Szondy, David (2022-01-24). "Radian One unveils plans for single-stage to orbit spaceplane". New Atlas. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
External links edit
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