[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6496\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESpace for the masses as helium balloons and remote control planes reach through the stratosphere\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom remote control drones that can fire rockets into orbit from the edge of space, to giant helium balloons that could carry tourists, science experiments or satellite launchers into the stratosphere, small-scale start-ups are stepping into the control room and embarking on a new low-cost space race.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt represents an exciting new wave of space travel, following in the vapour trails of private companies such as Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX or Richard Branson\u2019s Virgin Galactic.\u003Cdiv class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-bg-bluelightest tw-p-12 tw-my-12 tw--mx-16\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022tw-font-sans tw-font-bold tw-text-blue tw-uppercase tw-text-lg tw-mb-8\u0022\u003EThe Issue\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-inline-block tw-w-1\/6 tw-h-1 tw-bg-blue tw-mb-8\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EThe EU is aiming to encourage private companies to develop low-cost launch systems as part of its \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/growth\/tools-databases\/newsroom\/cf\/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=8975\u0026amp;lang=en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESpace Strategy for Europe\u003C\/a\u003E announced in October this year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe objective of EU funding for research into space technologies is to enable Europe to access space independently and affordably, and strengthen the capability of European scientists and engineers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBetween 2014 and 2020, it plans to spend over EUR 12 billion on three space programmes - satellite navigation, earth observation and space research.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhere once only global superpowers with vast budgets could go, Europe\u2019s entrepreneurs and innovators will soon be travelling for a fraction of the cost.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of these innovators is Zero 2 Infinity, a Spanish start-up working on helium balloon-borne spacecraft.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s the cheaper way because it\u2019s more efficient, you need fewer engineers to build it,\u2019 explained Jose Mariano Lopez-Urdiales, chief executive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENear space\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea is that the balloon would carry a passenger pod into what is known as near space, somewhere between 20 km and 100 km above the earth\u2019s surface, or carry its small rocket-powered Bloostar spacecraft which it could then launch much higher into low-earth orbit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZero 2 Infinity customers are already balloon launching satellites for short periods of high-altitude testing, and the company has EUR 140 million in expressions of interest for full satellite launches.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt was the leader of the EU-backed HELIUM project, which developed the concept for a near-space European laboratory that allows orbiting research at 36 km, and the life support system for the two pilots in the initial six-hour flights.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough space tourists could soon be using the balloon launch system to take selfies in near space, the first passengers are likely to be scientists, according to Lopez-Urdiales.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003EAiming higher than the balloon satellite launcher\u2019s range of 600 km, Europe\u2019s ALTAIR project is readying the blueprints for a remote-controlled aircraft which would use a rocket launch module to blast sub-200 kilogram satellite payloads into orbit and take off in 2020 at the earliest.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERunway\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EALTAIR\u2019s launch system \u2014 similar to Virgin Galactic\u2019s piloted White Knight 2 space tourism aircraft in appearance and general function \u2014 would take off from a runway, before ferrying satellites up to an altitude of 12-15 km and igniting its rocket payload.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut the similarities end there. ALTAIR project manager Nicolas B\u00e9rend says the project is focused on affordable, remote-controlled launches, calling on the experience of French space centres CNES and Onera, creators of the Eole automated launch aircraft demonstrator which is the project\u2019s precursor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy the end of the EU-funded programme in 2018, the six-country collaboration will have a final concept for the unmanned aircraft, its hybrid propulsion engine rocket launcher and ground operations, and will demonstrate its launch technology by doing suborbital tests using a scale model.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018If Europe does not take the chance now, then we may lose this possibility.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EBertil Oving, Netherlands Aerospace Centre\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy removing the human pilot and designing a facility geared towards a high launch frequency and minimal staffing, they hope to bring down the costs enough to make the project economically viable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is essential to the project\u2019s success to restrict launch costs to around EUR 4 million, a price the team\u2019s market analysts consider to be a competitive launch price,\u2019 said B\u00e9rend.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat should give them access to a growing market for small satellite launches, often in the form of so-called CubeSats, nanosatellites normally no more than 10 centimetres wide, a market where Europe is lagging behind at the moment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEven though Europe covers large-to-medium launches with its Ariane 6 and Vega rockets, and suborbital rockets from the And\u00f8ya launch site in Norway, it has no small-satellite solution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The small satellites are all launched outside of Europe with Russian or Indian launchers,\u2019 said Bertil Oving, of the Netherlands Aerospace Centre. \u2018There is a small-satellite market, it\u2019s booming and if Europe does not take the chance now, then we may lose this possibility.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe is the coordinator of SMILE, an EU-funded project designing a small-scale launcher for satellites of up to 50 kg.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESMILE will design and start component testing of a standard-format rocket, along with the necessary upgrades to the And\u00f8ya facility, by 2019, keeping costs below EUR 50 000 per kilogram launched, and hopefully cutting the expensive wait for satellites to be able to piggyback on one of the larger rockets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E3D printing\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELarger rockets benefit from an economy of scale, and SMILE\u2019s competitiveness would come from advances in reusable components, automated composite manufacturing, 3D printing and also high-volume production.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The payload versus the total mass becomes smaller when the launcher is smaller, so it\u2019s a cost aspect challenge,\u2019 said Oving.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe said SMILE is pushing advances in reusable liquid-fuelled engines and its automated manufacturing advances would have automotive and aviation industry uses, but he thinks the biggest implications of low-cost, low-orbit access will be for consumers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The idea for small satellites like CubeSats is to approach them like FedEx \u0026amp; DHL,\u2019 he said. \u2018We will simply bring it to where you want to have it.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@align-center@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022European organisations may soon make it easier to get equipment into near space and low-earth orbit.\u0022 height=\u00221062\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Horizon-LowEarthOrbit-1-crop.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022European organisations may soon make it easier to get equipment into near space and low-earth orbit.\u0022 width=\u0022983\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EEuropean organisations may soon make it easier to get equipment into near space and low-earth orbit.\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-h-falxsc6j9urikgn50k-qih2xqfv-khwkmsjtg-rlg\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-h_falxsC6J9urikgn50k_QiH2xqfV-khWkMSJtG-Rlg\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]