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Kinetic Space Lab

Launch vehicle

Designed to come back 

Five primary systems — flight computer, fuel tank, rocket engine, stabilizers and gas thrusters — all connected to one flight computer.

Concept render · KSL vehicle

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  1. 01. Payload fairing: Two-half shell shielding the payload
  2. 02. Payload bay: Satellite or cargo mounts here
  3. 03. Second stage: Vacuum engine that reaches orbit
  4. 04. Avionics bay: Flight computers and telemetry
  5. 05. Grid fins (air brakes): Steer and slow the booster on descent
  6. 06. Cold-gas thrusters: Flip and orient after separation
  7. 07. Oxidizer tank: Liquid oxygen, upper booster tank
  8. 08. First-stage booster: Reusable stage that returns to land
  9. 09. Wiring raceway: Cables and lines along the body
  10. 10. Fuel tank: Kerosene or methane, lower tank
  11. 11. Engine section: Thrust structure and heat shield
  12. 12. Main engines: Cluster for liftoff and landing burns
KSLV Mk-1 launch vehicle — subsystem mapLine drawing of the two-stage KSLV Mk-1 from nose to engines, with twelve labelled subsystems: Payload fairing, Payload bay, Second stage, Avionics bay, Grid fins (air brakes), Cold-gas thrusters, Oxidizer tank, First-stage booster, Wiring raceway, Fuel tank, Engine section, Main engines.

Kinetic Space Lab

KSLV Mk-1

KSLV Mk-1 is the reusable launch vehicle we are developing. Our mission is to build a completely and rapidly reusable launch vehicle that makes access to space more realistic and probable.

Kinetic Space Lab

KSLV Mk-1

KSLV Mk-1 is the reusable launch vehicle we are developing. Our mission is to build a completely and rapidly reusable launch vehicle that makes access to space more realistic and probable.

Subsystem map · 00 / 12

KSLV Mk-1

Solid model

Overview below ↓

Vehicle architecture

Five primary systems, connected to one flight computer.

Our launch vehicle is designed around the flight computer, the fuel tank, the rocket engine, the stabilizers and the gas thrusters. Each system is connected to the flight computer, which receives sensor data and issues commands throughout the flight.

SENSOR DATA AND COMMANDSNCFCGTFTSTRE
Concept diagram · exploded view of the KSL reusable launch vehicle

  • The brain of the vehicle. It reads every sensor and commands every system throughout the flight — from lift-off to landing.