The Swiss company intends to create a mini-shuttle to launch satellites
The company itself was established in the 2012 year, but it is only now that the official “launch” ceremony has taken place. The founder and head of the company, Pascal Jaussi (Pascal Jaussi), a former test pilot of the Swiss Air Force, presented the draft launch system.
It will consist of an Airbus A300 class aircraft, on the back of which a small suborbital space plane will be installed. After takeoff, at an altitude of about 10 kilometers, the spaceplane will be separated from the aircraft, start the engines and rise to an altitude of 80 kilometers. The second stage will be launched here, which will deliver the satellites into an orbit up to 700 kilometers in height. Then the plane and the spaceplane will sit on the same airfield from which they took off.
When creating a new system, S3 will rely on the development of its partner, Dassault Aviation, which in the 1980-ies participated in the creation of the European shuttle Hermes. S3 claims that using this heritage, as well as the work of other partners, in particular, the European Space Agency, the creation of a system will cost only 250 million Swiss francs (203 million euros) instead of several billions. The cost of one launch will be only 10 million francs - about four times cheaper than the current market price.
In 2015, S3 plans to build a spaceport in Payerne (canton Vaud), which will cost 50 million francs, and in 2016, finish building the shuttle, RIA reports News.
Information