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HyMOVE: enabling HyImpulse in-orbit capabilities for small satellite missions

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IAC-24.B4.5.1.x82138

HyMOVE: enabling HyImpulse in-orbit capabilities for small satellite missions

Paola Bredaa*, Stefano Centoramea, Luís Ferreiraa, Alexandru Mitrachea,

Pedro Netoa, Dario Sentera, Michele Spirolazzia, Michael Vogela
a
HyImpulse Technologies GmbH, R&D Office Ottobrunn, Germany
* Corresponding Author: [email protected]

Abstract
HyImpulse is a commercial player in the NewSpace business developing launch services for the small satellite market
in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), offering a proprietary, low-cost hybrid rocket propulsion technology as value proposition.
Launch services will be offered by the orbital Small Launcher (SL1), currently under development. Within the
spectrum of services provided by SL1, HyImpulse is aiming at extending their in-space capabilities to address missions
involving the deployment of constellations and hosted payloads. In late 2022 HyImpulse and the Julius Maximilians
University of Würzburg started the development of a modular orbital transportation vehicle to extend the in-orbit
capabilities of SL1 within the framework of project HyMOVE. The project aims at developing a product to serve the
growing market of small satellites that enable downstream services associated to, for example, Earth observation
devices and satellite-based internet connectivity. The first phase of the project includes the testing of a ground
demonstrator representative of the vehicle, while the second phase ends with the commercialization of the flight
version. The system is designed to include modularity, to allow for more standardization and cost reduction, and enable
the adoption of procedures from general industrial practices to practices specific to the space industry. This paper
summarizes the development status of HyImpulse on the main subsystems and the planned activities within the short-
term.
Keywords: In-orbit Capabilities, Orbital Transfer Vehicle, Low Earth Orbit, SmallSat, Green Propulsion

Acronyms Aerospace Center (DLR), Lampoldshausen, in 2018.

ACS Attitude Control System HyImpulse’s mission is to provide the small satellite
AOCS Attitude and Orbit Control System market with a sustainable and affordable alternative to
CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate access space. Low-cost, safety of operations and
CDR Critical Design Review responsiveness derive from the utilization of a
CFRP Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic proprietary hybrid propulsion technology. HyImpulse
COTS Commercial Off-The-Shelf orbital launcher SL1 with its integrated in-orbit
DRM Design Reference Mission capabilities will provide space access to LEO with a
DLR German Aerospace Center payload capacity of 600 kg. HyImpulse SR75 sounding
EPS Electrical Power System rocket serves as technology demonstrator for the engine
LEO Low Earth Orbit and provides sub-orbital flights for 350 kg payload up to
200 km. The maiden flight of SR75 took place from
HyMOVE Hybrid Multipurpose Orbital VEichle
Koonibba Test Range, Australia, in May 2024 [1].
MAT Manufacturing, Assembly and Testing
The company headquarters, where most of the
OBC On Board Computer
development, production and assembly of the rockets are
OMS Orbital Manoeuvring System performed, are strategically based in Neuenstadt am
OTV Orbital Transfer Vehicle Kocher, in close proximity to the DLR development and
PCB Printed Circuit Board test site where small scale hybrid engines are tested. In
PDR Preliminary Design Review 2022 the company expanded their Research and
SL1 Small Launcher 1 Development offices to Munich, where the team started
TRL Technology Readiness Level the transfer of knowledge and expertise to develop in-
WBS Work Breakdown Structure space propulsion capabilities for the company orbital
WP Work Package launcher. With the industrial research phase funded by
project HyMOVE (Hybrid Multipurpose Orbital
1. Introduction VEhicle) through the Bavarian Ministry of Economic
HyImpulse Technologies GmbH is a NewSpace Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, the mid-
company located in southern Germany, started as a spin- term goal of HyImpulse is adding an additional product
off of the Institute of Space Propulsion at the German

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to the company portfolio that can expand their launcher September 2024, most subsystems developed by
capabilities. HyImpulse reached Critical Design Review (CDR) for
This paper provides an overview of the development ground testing (Section 5), including two hot fire tests of
activities occurring within the Munich office and how the hybrid engine (Section 5.4). Final integrated testing
these activities integrate into the company roadmap. of the prototype with the OBC provided by the university
partner is planned for Q2/2025, followed by the hot fire
2. Project HyMOVE test at HyImpulse testing facilities (Shetland Islands, UK)
Within the project HyMOVE, HyImpulse and their in the second half of 2025. Fig. 2 provides an overview
university partner are working on developing a modular of main project deliverables. MAT stands for
spacecraft platform that can complement the mission of Manufacturing, Assembly and Testing activities.
small launch vehicles. The development is built upon the The industrial research phase of project HyMOVE is
expertise of both project partners. While HyImpulse supporting HyImpulse business case to provide an
focuses on the overall system design, in particular the Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) as integrated service for
development and testing of a hybrid propulsion system the company small launcher SL1. Commercialization of
for in-space applications, the University of Würzburg the OTV services on SL1 or third-party launchers is
focuses on the development of high reliability software planned to occur by 2029.
and the On-Board Computer (OBC) system [2].
Project HyMOVE consists of two phases: the industrial System
Development
Propulsion
System
Avionics Structures
Integration
and Testing
research phase, to which the funding period is associated,
Mission Hybrid
will close in Q4/2025 with the on-ground integrated Design Engine
OBC Tanks Test Bench

testing of the spacecraft prototype; the commercial phase,

System AOCS Core System
stretching 4 years beyond the end of the grant, will enable Design Thruster
EPS
Structure Integration

HyImpulse to achieve project profitability by concluding

Subsystems Fluid System
Sensors Mechanisms
the in-flight qualification of the spacecraft. Design System Testing

A Technology Readiness Level (TRL) review for in-orbit Risk

propulsion shows that hybrid propulsion technologies Anaylsis

have not yet achieved TRL 9, thus they have not been Cost
Analysis
demonstrated in space. With existing expertise in launch
system utilization of hybrid technologies, HyImpulse is
using the industrial research phase of HyMOVE to study Fig. 1. WBS of Project HyMOVE updated to
the feasibility of using a hybrid propulsion system for September 2024. Green: active WPs from HyImpulse.
orbital purposes, targeting a TRL of 6 by the end of the Orange: active WP from university partner. Grey:
project. Initial performance and test evaluation are driven completed or not yet started.
both by the final project deliverables, as well as future
product integration and commercialization. The 3. Market Research and Business Opportunities
exploitation of the industrial research phase to investigate The identification of the OTV as viable product to
low TRL technologies, i.e. the feasibility and consolidate the effort of the research phase of HyMOVE
performance of hybrid propulsion for space applications, was identified as an opportunity deriving from the
became a core objective to finalize the project scope in development of the satellite market over the past 15
2022. In line with the HyImpulse vision of being green, years.
HyMOVE will use environmentally friendly rocket By looking into the growth of the global space economy,
propellant only (i.e., green propellants). For the the BryceTech report on global space economy updated
HyMOVE product, this implies the utilization of to 2022 shows that the satellite industry covers 73% of
chemical or hybrid propellants exhibiting low levels of the global space economy with $281,3B of revenues [3].
toxicity (Sections 5.1, 5.4). The satellite industry includes the shares for satellite
An overview on the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) ground equipment, satellite services, satellite
and the technical contribution of HyImpulse to the manufacturing, and launch services, listed in order of
industrial research phase of the project is shown in Fig. magnitude. The Total Available Market (TAM) of
1. Together with the 5 main categories, additional Work HyImpulse is the commercial satellite launches market.
Packages (WP) have been created to cover activities for: This was valued at €6,9B in 2022, expected to grow to
Project Management, Business Development, Facilities €25,8B in 2031 (15,7% Compound Annual Growth
Administration (not shown). Blocks coloured in green Rate). HyImpulse assesses the Serviceable Available
identify the WPs of HyImpulse, the block in orange the Market (SAM) to be given by the SmallSat launches. In-
WP of the project partner. Grey blocks have been space propulsion is valued at €6,1B, expected to grow to
completed (branch System Development) or have not €18,2B in 2031 (15% CAGR).
started yet (branch Integration and Testing). As per

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Fig. 2. HyMOVE project timeline. Next project milestone highlighted in blue.

The Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) is applications for remote sensing and technology
estimated at €1B. This has been calculated with a top- development. Extrapolating the numbers of 2022, the
down approach based on the assumptions that SL1 is SmallSat activity is forecast to increase, boosted by the
targeting customers with the need to have a dedicated completion of the megaconstellation fleet and its entry
launch with up to 600 kg payload to LEO, a market into service [4].
estimated to represent around 10% of the total launch Without considering the contribution of Starlink (~260
service market (roughly €760M). HyImpulse business kg) and OneWeb (~150 kg), the most popular weight
activities focused on in-space propulsion are estimated classes as per number of satellites launched are the
to capture up to 10% of the total in-space propulsion categories of NanoSat (1,1-10 kg) and MicroSat (11-
market worth roughly €200M, for revenues from in- 200 kg) [4]. The launch frequency of both categories
space propulsion of €19M by 2031. Revenues of over is foreseen to double in the upcoming years due to the
€215 million are expected to be reached by 2031. building of constellations. Since Germany operates the
From the statistics covering 2013-2022, it appears that highest number of SmallSats in Europe (63, next
payloads with weight class less than 600 kg are being country being France with 30), there is potential for
launched in steeply increasing number due to the HyImpulse as a German company to be competitive in
booming of the NewSpace economy. The reference of the regional market and offer launch and deployment
the BryceTech Smallsats Report 2023 [4] is used here services for payload classes below 200 kg.
to define the threshold for SmallSats to cover all class With the use of a space tug or an OTV, HyImpulse
weights below 600 kg. Statistics show that SmallSats would be able to deploy multiple SmallSats in a precise
represent 87% of the spacecraft launched within 2013- custom orbit after releasing from the launch vehicle.
2022 and cover 25% of the total upmass. As such, the development of the HyMOVE spacecraft
With SL1, HyImpulse has the potential to serve the towards an OTV would allow HyImpulse to expand its
SmallSat market with a cost effective and flexible portfolio and use the OTV to enhance the orbital
solution, as a valid alternative to larger launch vehicles capabilities of the company small launcher. Earlier
that hold the upper hand on price per kg. In fact, revenues are also foreseen by launching the OTV with
SmallSat are still primarily deployed on medium to third-party launchers in rideshare configuration.
heavy launch vehicles: 93% of the SmallSat launched The identification of the spacecraft developed within
in year 2022 used a medium/heavy launch vehicle, HyMOVE to be an OTV fulfils the purpose of the
71% if excluding Starlink and OneWeb from the count project description: the OTV can serve as a kick-stage
[4]. When considering the type of orbit targeted by for final orbit insertion of customer payload when
SmallSats, they are launched predominantly in LEO, launching with SL1, but can also offer last-mile
especially to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), both payload delivery and hosted payload capabilities when
covered by the mission profile of SL1. launching with SL1 or third-party launchers (Section
In regard to the mission type, communication satellites 4).
are the largest share covered by SmallSats since 2019, It is important to note that the identification of the
primarily due to the contribution of two market share for HyMOVE is based on the assumption
megaconstellations of weight class 100-500 kg that the identified OTV market does not change
(Starlink and OneWeb) reaching a share of abruptly within the next decade. The market research
approximately 80%. This category is followed by

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is reviewed on a yearly basis to identify if provides the baseline costs from active Rideshare
opportunities have developed into risks and vice versa. Service Providers with their OTVs. It is to note that the
The research on the OTV market presented in this provided price does not include additional add-on
section includes spacecraft declared for on-orbit services. The key for HyImpulse will be offering a
services (e.g., last-mile delivery, in-orbit servicing); competitive price/kg against their competitors,
scientific orbital testing platform (e.g., hosted leveraging on the proprietary green propulsion
payload); active debris removal. Additional servicing technology.
segments exist (Fig. 2 of [7]) but they are excluded For a German startup as HyImpulse, it is interesting to
from the comparison because market share is not yet assess the European market where most of the OTVs
established (e.g., on-orbit assembly and are currently under development [6]. In February 2023
manufacturing, space exploration). The OTV analysis there were already 14 European companies declaring
of this paper is limiting the discussion to the the ongoing development of their OTV [7].
geographical location, although more extended The primary mission types covered by the declared
analysis can cover application and propulsion type OTVs are last-mile delivery services and hosted
(e.g., [5]). payload missions, with focus on LEO and potential
Considering OTVs both in operation and under extension to lunar orbit. Companies pursuing an OTV
development, US-based in-orbit service providers and product are usually launch service providers when the
launch service providers can potentially provide 50% OTV can support the in-orbit capability of their
of the OTV and space tug capabilities worldwide, the launcher, or they specialize directly in on-orbit
EU-based providers 33% and the rest of the world 17% delivery services.
(i.e., Japan, India, Australia, Russia, China). When With HyMOVE, HyImpulse joins other competitors in
limiting the comparison between the US and the EU, the European market with a declared OTV or space tug
only 14% of EU carriers are operational or flight- currently under development. The OTV database of [7]
proven (namely ION from D-Orbit and SpaceVan from was updated to include the latest company
ExoTrail) compared to 43% in the US (Fig. 3). The developments (Table 2). Rapid and agile prototyping
VMR report of year 2023 identifies the following key will be a key factor for HyImpulse to release the OTV
players in the OTV market worldwide [5]: Exotrail, earlier on the market and offer a competitive price per
Spaceflight, Space Machines Company, Exolaunch, kg to their customers.
Atomos Space, Momentus Space. As from September 2024, the only potential competitor
in the market of OTV in the European region is D-
Orbit. ION has already a proven flight heritage,
features a chemical propulsion system and targets a
3 payload class below 200 kg. Potential competitors at
EU
4 the target entry year of 2029 are identified as:
7 12
14 US
• RFA and MaiaSpace, due to their joint
Others development of launcher services and debut
9
2 Under flight within 2026;
21 development
• Exotrail, as they demonstrated in-flight
12
capabilities of their OTV in Q2/2024;
• Exolaunch and UARX Space, as
Fig. 3. Number of companies developing OTVs by development is progressing and the payload
geographical area. class to be served is similar to HyImpulse’s
OTV;
Table 1. Baseline costs from active rideshare services • Hybrogines, since direct competitor in hybrid
providers and their OTVs.
propulsion technology, although only little
Provider OTV Price [$/kg] Capability [kg]
D-Orbit ION Undisclosed 160 information on their development status is
SpaceX Transporter 5.900 22.800 publicly available.
Momentus Vigoride 15.000 750
Vast Orbiter 15.000 400 Note that one important parameter is not included in
Table 2, the price/kg, as development is still ongoing
For a German startup as HyImpulse, it is interesting to for most of the companies listed in the table. This
assess the European market where most of the OTVs parameter is reassessed on a yearly basis and is
are currently under development [6]. In February 2023 expected to change as soon as the first microlaunchers
there were already 14 European companies declaring will be operative in Europe.
the ongoing development of their OTV [7].

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4. System Overview testing is planned to start not earlier than Q2/2025 at

The Product Breakdown Structure of HyImpulse OTV HyImpulse testing facilities (Shetland Islands, UK).
is only part of a more complex system of interest
required to operate such space product, as shown in
Fig. 4. The blocks greyed out are out of scope in project Ground Segment Space Segment Support Segment
HyMOVE. Tailoring the requirements for a space
project life cycle from the ECSS standards, project Communication
Payload Test Facilities
System
HyMOVE concluded the feasibility study and mission
analysis phase in 2022 (Phase A). More than ten OTV
mission scenarios were assessed, as well as numerous Mission Control • AOCS Operations
• Avionics
subsystem trade-offs. The selected Design Reference • Fluid
System
Mission (DRM) for the OTV was the one providing Payload Control
• Mechanisms
GSE
• Propulsion
most advantages from the business and system System
• Structures
perspective. The DRM states that the OTV will use Demonstrator
[Project
hybrid propulsion for orbital insertion after the HyMOVE]

spacecraft is deployed from SL1 (kick-stage mode)

and use liquid propulsion for multiple orbital Fig. 4. Product Breakdown Structure for OTV
manoeuvres. program.
Based on the DRM, mission requirements were
created. Some of the mission and system requirements
will be verified during the industrial research phase of
the project (on-ground testing), although most of them
will only be verified through the proto-flight of the
OTV. Abiding to these requirements as well as system
and business ones, a design of the OTV was created.
The design was refined and frozen to Preliminary
Design Review (PDR) in July 2023 as shown in Fig. 5.
The current design will undergo both sub-system and
system testing. For the system testing, a Demonstrator
unit (bottom right block of Fig. 4) will be assembled
and integrated at the test stand with the purpose of
verifying
• System assembly
• Test bench integration
• System performance

Unit tested and fully functional sub-systems will be Fig. 5. OTV prototype rendering (PDR).
integrated on the demonstrator for final testing. System
Table 2. Development status of European OTV service providers.
Company [OTV Name] Mission Type Status OTV competitor for HyImpulse at target
entry year [2029]?
Absolute Systems [N/A] In-orbit servicing Under Development: Not likely.
Feasibility study from 09/2022. Development status unknown since 2022.
Serving a different mission type.
ArianeGroup [ASTRIS] Kick-stage Under Development: Not likely.
Last-mile delivery ESA competition won in Development status unknown since 2021.
07/2021. Chemical propulsion with MMH/MON.
ASTRAIT Space [NEMO] Kick-stage Under Development: Not likely.
Hosted payloads Design phase. Development status unknown since 2021.
Electrical propulsion.
ClearSpace [ClearSpace-1] Active Debris Under Development: Not likely.
Removal (ADR) Vibration and thermal vacuum Serving a different mission type.
chamber test completed
[01/2024]. Mission simplified
[04/2024].
D-Orbit [ION] Last-mile delivery Operational. Very likely.
Hosted payloads Serving customer market since 2020.
Payload capacity 100-200 kg.
Chemical green propulsion.

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ExoLaunch [Reliant] Last-mile delivery Under Development: Likely.

ADR Design phase [03/2024]. Chemical propulsion on Standard version.
Chemical+Electrical propulsion for Pro version.
Exotrail [SpaceVan] Last-mile delivery Flight-Proven: Likely.
Hosted payloads In-flight demonstration Flight-proven.
[03/2024]. Payload capacity of 400 kg.
Electrical propulsion.
Hybrogines [Hyscab] Last-mile delivery Under Development: Likely.
Hot fire test of 1kN engine H2O2/Polyethylene motor.
[01/2024].
Lunása [VIA] Last-mile delivery Under Development: Not likely.
In-orbit servicing Design phase. Development status unknown since 2021.
ADR
MaiaSpace [Colibrí] Kick-stage Under Development: Likely.
Last-mile delivery Hot fire test [12/2023]. Launch service provider. Launch vehicle first
flight planned for 2026.
Chemical green propulsion.
RFA [RedShift] Last-mile delivery Under Development: Likely.
In-orbit servicing Full mission hot fire test Launch service provider.
Hosted payloads [07/2024]. Qualified for flight. Payload capacity of 1300 kg (SSO).
ADR Chemical green propulsion.
Skyrora [Space Tug] Last-mile delivery Qualified for flight: Not likely.
full-mission hot fire test Development status unknown since 2020.
[12/2020]. Chemical propulsion.
SmallSpark [S4-SLV] Last-mile delivery Under Development: Not likely.
(lunar orbit) Hot fire test of thruster Different mission type.
[09/2023].
UARX Space [Ossie] Last-mile delivery Under Development: Likely.
In-orbit servicing Disclosed collaboration with Qualification flight planned for June 2025 with
ADR partner Sener for GNC payload capacity of 250 kg.
[09/2023]. Chemical green propulsion.

5. Subsystems Overview • Two GPS receivers for orbital state

5.1 AOCS determination (position and velocity).
The Attitude and Orbital Control System (AOCS)
integrates hardware and software components to manage In Phase B, 1N and 200N thrusters were identified to be
both the attitude and orbital control of the OTV, ensuring a good compromise for respectively attitude control and
proper manoeuvring throughout the whole mission orbital manoeuvring functionalities. These components
duration. Its functional architecture is split between the are planned to be developed in-house within the scope of
Attitude Control System (ACS) and the Orbital this project (block AOCS Thrusters of Fig. 1), while
Manoeuvring System (OMS). reaction wheels and sensors will be outsourced at a later
The ACS provides for attitude determination systems and stage as Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) items.
actuation systems. Attitude planning and management is Phase A identified nitrous oxide (N2O) and Ethane
carried out by the Guidance Navigation Control (GNC) (C2H6) as suitable liquid propellants for the liquid
unit, whose development is out of scope in this project propulsion thrusters (Section 5.3).
and outsourced via an external supplier. Attitude For the industrial research of HyMOVE, a 20N
actuation system consists of hardware components like capacitively cooled battleship prototype was designed
attitude control thrusters and reaction wheels. (Fig. 6).
The OMS functional branch deals with the spacecraft's
orbital control. This includes the Orbit Measurement
System, which uses onboard GPS units to monitor the
spacecraft's position and velocity while in orbit, and the
Orbital Propulsion Assembly.
The OTV design shown in Fig. 5 includes
• Four thrusters for orbital manoeuvres
• Six thrusters for attitude control
• Three reaction wheels
• A sensor suite for attitude determination,
consisting of: four fine sun sensors, two star Fig. 6. Rendering of the 20N prototype thruster.
trackers, one magnetometer, and one fiber optic
gyro unit

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The main purposes of this prototype are: to gain hands- Each motherboard PCB includes a dedicated avionics
on experience with the technology and propellant electrical power distribution board receptacle. With
behaviour; to propose and validate the design concept; to identical hardware interfaces as the auxiliary boards, the
investigate the injection and ignition system; to conduct distribution board provides power isolation and
the first ignition assessment and investigate the ignition regulation from the vehicles primary power bus, two
sequence; to perform the first performance assessment additional redundant power source channels through
(i.e., combustion efficiency, transients’ characterization, battery units in case of a primary bus failure, as well as
stability); to test mixture ratio and chamber pressure independently switchable and monitored power
range of excursion. channels. The vehicle power supply is regulated from the
Successive development iterations will include 28 V standard to a 15 V supply to maintain a low noise
investigations of optimal characteristic length, as well as power bus for electronics modules. The 15 V supply is
thermal behaviour characterization. The first engine was then distributed to the individually accessible power
fully manufactured in-house and assembled in September channels. The power channels can either be interfaced
2024, with the first test campaign scheduled for October with the auxiliary connectors on the motherboard or
2024. through external connectors, for example with external
attitude determination systems.
5.2 Avionics The Sensor & Data Acquisition Suite is designed to fulfil
For the demonstrator unit of the HyMOVE vehicle, the core external data acquisition requirements of the
electronics development and hardware prototyping focus vehicle in its operating environment. These are the
has been concentrated on the core avionics command and acquisition of various pressure and temperature
data systems. Other subsystems, such as attitude properties. Independent PCBs are designed to acquire
determination, and vehicle electrical power systems have data from pressure transducers and thermocouple
only been conceptually investigated. This prioritization sensors. An example for a prototype sensor board is
is primarily to ensure that the requisites for testing of shown in Fig. 7.
other HyMOVE demonstrator subsystems are adequately
met.
The core avionics systems of the Demonstrator unit
consist of the following subsystems: the OBC subsystem
(block OBC of Fig. 1), the Sensor & Data Acquisition
Suite (block Sensors of Fig. 1), the Avionics Electrical
Power distribution System (block EPS of Fig. 1), and the
Avionics Interfacing Hardware. For all mentioned
systems and their hardware prototypes, the most crucial
design focuses have been: reliability and high safety;
scalability; modularity and integrability; and low cost
through use of COTS components.
The OBC, developed jointly with the University of
Würzburg, is a high reliability, modular multi-unit
computing system. As the OBC system is amply Fig. 7. Temperature Sensing Data Acquisition
documented and presented in previous publications [2] Prototype PCB.
the remainder of the Avionics section of this paper will
discuss the other aspects of the avionics system. These PCBs are capable of interfacing with the auxiliary
The Avionics Interfacing Hardware is the standardized PCB receptacles of the Avionics interfacing hardware,
interface of avionics subsystem components/modules. allowing the OBC direct access to the data acquisition
For the HyMOVE system, this standard architecture electronics. The modular design of the PCBs allows
consists of a modular motherboard Printed Circuit Board multiple of the same units to be interfaced with the
(PCB). This PCB accepts one OBC unit, multiple motherboard, providing scalability depending on the
auxiliary boards and power management unit. The mission requirements, and configurability for interfacing
interface from the modules to the motherboard is through of different sensors and OBC units.
120 pin connectors of which half are duplicate, redundant
pins. With a standardized interface, future iterations of 5.3 Fluids System
auxiliary boards can cover, for example, sensor and The Fluids System comprises the propellant tanks (block
attitude determination PCBs, payload interface or data Tanks of Fig. 1), maintenance of the propellants nominal
storage PCBs, as long as they are compatible with the conditions, the fluid lines feeding the engines (block
OBC interfaces, providing high system versatility and Fluid System of Fig. 1), and the control of the mass flow
configurability. to the engines. The requirements on the fluid system of

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the vehicle evolved with the trade-offs made for the The hybrid propulsion engine on the OTV (block Hybrid
propulsion system in Phase A of the project, such as Engine of Fig. 1) acts as a kick stage, giving the OTV the
propellant choice (N2O as shared oxidizer between the possibility to be the final stage on a small launcher like
liquid thrusters and the hybrid engine, Ethane as fuel for SL1. For this reason, the hybrid engine shall be capable
the liquid thrusters), self-pressurization as pressurization of performing a high thrust manoeuvre (~ 4 kN) over a
method (exploiting the high vapor pressure of N2O and limited time of about 60 seconds to ensure orbital
Ethane to ensure the controlled depletion of the tanks). insertion of the spacecraft after being released on a sub-
The functionalities of the fluids system include the orbital trajectory. The hybrid engine features the use of
storage, distribution and monitoring of fluids. N2O as oxidizer, which is shared with the liquid thrusters
The vehicle has a total of six tanks (Fig. 5), four oxidizer of the OTV (Section 5.1). The validation of the engine
tanks and two fuel tanks, positioned around the core requirements to be performed in vacuum is outside the
structure where they act as primary structural elements of scope of the industrial research phase of project
the OTV. Each oxidizer tank has an internal volume of HyMOVE. The final project deliverable is limited to the
48 L and each fuel tank has a volume of 29 L. The on-ground test of the integrated system in the second half
propellants are self-pressurized, with a maximum of 2025 (Section 2).
expected operating pressure of 63 bar for the oxidizer The first development iteration was recently concluded
tanks and 46,5 bar for the fuel tank. after the completion of the data analysis of two hot fire
tests performed at the testbench M11.5 (DLR
Lampoldshausen) in July 2024 (Fig. 9).

Fig. 8. Type III oxidizer tank (top) and fuel tank

(bottom).

The oxidizer tank is a type III pressure vessel, with an

aluminum liner and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic
(CFRP) overwrap (top of Fig. 8). This tank is spherical
due to its higher operation pressure. The flanges are used
as an interface for the feed line, venting port and pressure
and temperature sensors, as well as a mechanical
interface with the payload plate and struts that connect Fig. 9. Hot fire tests of HyMOVE hybrid engine at
the tank to the core structure (Fig. 13). As the upper DLR Lampoldshausen in July 2024.
flange of the tank is mounted to the payload plate, a
siphon is welded to the lower flange to allow venting The focus on the first engine version was investigating
during the filling process and operations. the engine ballistics using storable N2O, after the
The fuel tank is also a Type III pressure vessel, with an propellant trade-off performed at system level in Phase
aluminum liner and CFRP overwrap (bottom of Fig. 8). A. A rendering view of the engine is shown in Fig. 10.
This tank is cylindrical with semi-spherical domes, as it Since the engine is not meant to be tested in vacuum at
has a lower operating pressure. The flanges and this stage, it does not feature an appropriate nozzle
interfaces required are the same as those required for the expansion ratio.
oxidizer tank.

5.4 Hybrid Engine

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 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) – Milan, Italy, 14-18 October 2024.
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All the data gathered in this phase will be used to improve

the general design of the engine in the next development
cycle (currently ongoing) to include, for example, mass
optimization and enhancement of combustion efficiency.

5.5 Mechanisms
The separation mechanism from the launch vehicle is a
Fig. 10. Rendering of HyMOVE hybrid engine. critical aspect of the mission (Section 4). While there are
several solutions available on the market, the
The engine design achieved after the first iteration is a development of an in-house solution gives HyImpulse
result of knowledge transfer within the company. It the flexibility of having a vertically integrated solution.
included adaptation of engineering modelling from LOX- Additionally, this product can be offered to future SL1
based hybrid engines used for the launchers to N2O- customers as well.
based engines, and it provided consistent improvements The 24-inch separation ring uses the classical 2 rings with
to design solutions already demonstrated to be the best clamp band solution, as shown in Fig. 12.
trade-off for other company products. This approach
resulted in optimized development time and associated
development costs. The adopted design solutions
include:
• the use of materials similar to those used for
HyPLOX10 and HyPLOX75, respectively the
work-horse engine of the company and the
engine that powered the launch of the SR75
sounding rocket in May 2024 [1];
• the design of the main components of the
combustion chamber, namely the pre and post
sections and the fuel grain;
• the use of filament winding to wrap the engine Fig. 12. OTV separation ring.
with carbon fibres, entirely performed in-house.
Separation is actuated by two off the shelf Hold Down
The first test campaign provided important information Release Mechanisms which release the two ends of the
about the general functioning of the engine. The tests clamping band. The clamping band, which is under
included the characterization of the injector plate, a test tension, opens allowing the flyaway ring to separate.
on the behaviour of the ignition system and the two hot The 5 kg separation ring is configurable with 3 to 16
fires of 10 seconds each, to understand the engine separation springs capable of pushing the payload within
performance. All tests were considered successful. One a range of 2,1 to 8,3 J of kinetic energy. Mechanically, it
of the main results is displayed in Fig. 11, which shows is sized to resist dynamic and static loads present in the
the normalized pressure over time for the second hot fire vertical and horizontal launch configurations of the OTV
test. The combustion showed a stable behaviour for the (Section 5.6). The block Mechanisms of Fig. 1 covers the
entire duration of the test. work to be done for the development and testing of the
OTV separation ring during the industrial research phase
of the project.

5.6 Structures
The OTV structure is designed to satisfy a series of space
environment requirements, as well as the dynamic and
static loads present in two possible launch
configurations:
• Vertical configuration: the OTV is the main
payload of the launch vehicle (e.g., launch with
SL1 or dedicated small launchers);
• Horizontal configuration: the OTV is part of a
Fig. 11. Pressure evolution over time. rideshare mission (e.g., launch with SpaceX).

IAC-24.B4.5.1.x82138 Page 9 of 11
 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) – Milan, Italy, 14-18 October 2024.
Copyright © IAC 2024 by HyImpulse Technologies GmbH. Published by the IAF, with permission and released to the IAF to publish in all forms.

The structure consists of four main components: core HyImpulse aims at complementing their portfolio of
structure; payload plate; thrust structure; tanks. Tanks are products by expanding the in-orbit capabilities of the
part of the fluids system, as described in Section 5.3. The company small launcher SL1. By developing an OTV,
struts attached to the bottom flange of the tanks belong to HyImpulse will be able to deploy multiple SmallSats in a
this subsystem instead. An overview of the vehicle precise custom orbit after releasing from the launch
structure is shown in Fig. 13. vehicle, either the proprietary SL1 or a third-party
The core structure is an axisymmetric CFRP shell with launcher.
two outwards facing CFRP flanges on either end. The Project HyMOVE is funding the industrial research
bottom flange interfaces with an ESPA-compatible 24- phase of the OTV development, targeting the on-ground
inch separation ring, and the upper flange interfaces with integrated testing of a simplified demonstrator version by
the payload plate. Both interfaces make use of bolted the end of 2025. The spacecraft developed within
connections. HyMOVE fulfils the project scope, that includes the
The payload plate consists of a sandwich plate with integration of modularity, scalability and research on
potted inserts being used in its interfaces with the core technologies with low TRL. While HyImpulse is
structure, tanks, and payload. The use of a sandwich plate developing the entire system with focus on the hybrid and
provides great flexibility for payload attachment as the liquid propulsion units, the university partner is
position and quantity of mounting points for payloads can contributing to the development of the OBC. In
be changed based on a specific mission analysis. September 2024 almost all subsystems reached CDR.
Each tank interfaces with the core structure via a set of 3 Two hot fire tests were run on the first iteration of the
struts, one of which connects the lower flange of the tank hybrid engine, the first hot fire test of the liquid thruster
to the core structure in the radial direction, and the is currently ongoing, most of the structures and tanks
remaining two connect the lower flange of the tank to the components are being manufactured and avionics
lower flange of the core structure. The struts consist of integration is proceeding on schedule.
aluminum tubes with rod ends.
Acknowledgements
Project HyMOVE is financially supported by the
Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional
Development and Energy (Bayerisches
Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft, Landesentwicklung
und Energie - StMWi) within the space research program
RaFo (Raumfahrt-Forschungsprogramm) under grant
number RaFo21-010-A.

References
[1] Breda P., Corbo D., De Pace A., Maiden Flight of
HyImpulse SR75 Hybrid Sounding Rocket, 26th
ESA Symposium on European Rocket & Balloon
Programmes and Related Research, Luzern, 19-23
May 2024.
[2] Montenegro S., Strohmeier M., Breda P., Vogel M.,
Fig. 13. OTV vehicle structure.
Avionics for HyMOVE: A Modular Orbital
Transportation System for Small Satellites, 14th
The thrust structure is an axisymmetric CFRP shell that
IAA Symposium on Small Satellites for Earth
connects the upper bulkhead of the motor to the same
System Observation, Berlin, 7-12 May 2023.
flange that interfaces the core structure with the payload
[3] 2022 Global Space Economy, BryceTech, 29
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(accessed 26.08.2024)
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[5] Global Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) Market By
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Type (Electric Propulsion, Chemical Propulsion),
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By Application (Government, Commercial), By
Geographic Scope And Forecast, Verified Market
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Reports, August 2024, Report ID: 385262

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 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) – Milan, Italy, 14-18 October 2024.
Copyright © IAC 2024 by HyImpulse Technologies GmbH. Published by the IAF, with permission and released to the IAF to publish in all forms.

[6] European Orbital Transfer Vehicles Index, European

Spaceflight,
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[7] European Startups Hungry for Space Tug Market
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26.08.2024).
[8] Sarritzu A., Pasini A., Performance comparison of
green propulsion systems for future Orbital Transfer
Vehicles, Acta Astronautica, 217, 2024, 110-115.

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