“We want to be the Rolls Royce of space”

France has hundreds of startups in the aerospace industry. Most of them were born in recent years and all say that they are stronger than their competitors. Many promise to build entire rockets capable of sending satellites into orbit within a few years.

But in the case of Pangea Space, this is not a project at all. The company born in Barcelona, and recently established near Toulouse, claims to want to limit itself to the role of “engine manufacturer”. As Marie-Laure Gouzy, Country Manager France, explains to us, Pangea Aerospace’s goal is to develop a rocket engine with revolutionary technology, the aerospike nose.

Breaking the technical barrier

This idea is not new, NASA had already worked on this nose in the 1980s, without getting the expected results. But almost 40 years after the first tests, Pangea firmly believes in this new project.

More than just growth, last October the company tested some key components of its ARCOS engine, resulting in the development of up to 750 kN of thrust.

Two years earlier, in 2021, Pangea Aerospace had activated its Demop1 demonstrator, which connected the combustion chamber to the nose of the aerospike, making it possible to develop a thrust of 20 kN. This ignition made a world first for this Methalox combustion chamber completely printed in 3D.

What is an aerospike nozzle?

To fully understand the scope of these developments in the space world, you need to take a closer look at your physics and chemistry classes. As the rocket rises through the atmosphere, it will pass through several “layers”, all of which have different densities.

These nuances of pressure around the rocket mean that the shape of the nose (the tip of the engine, so to speak) must change according to the layer of air crossed. To achieve full efficiency, the nozzle will have to be replaced every time it passes through a new layer.

But thanks to Pangea Aerospace technology, one nose can reach the plane in orbit. A revolution from an engine manufacturer that promises an efficiency gain of 15%. “Having a more efficient engine saves weight on fuel, and therefore carries more payload, for a launcher, this is very important.”

In the shadow of the prince

With this engine, Pangea assures, the idea is not to make headlines. “We are an engine manufacturer and that is very good, we want to be the equivalent of Rolls-Royce to Boeing or Airbus, but in the aerospace sector.” This role of a unique engine manufacturer is far from new, during the Apollo missions and even during space travel, NASA built its rockets using different companies for each part.

“Engine manufacturers have always existed throughout the history of aviation.” It was finally only the advent of New Space and “independent” companies with SpaceX in the lead that the role of the engine manufacturer was lost. In the case of Pangea, the development of many additional projects, and companies that want to build rockets and launchers, is not a problem.

For Marie-Laure Gouzy, small companies that want to join the space are interested in trusting Pangea for the engine part. “When you see the development costs of a conventional engine, you think twice before going ahead.”

Release the engine from 2026

Another crux of the matter, besides money, is time. The New Space World is in full swing this year and many projects are coming to fruition. As for Pangea, everyone knows, we must not miss the boat.

The company plans to conduct several tests in 2024 and 2025. It hopes to be able to sell the first prototypes in 2026. They would be sold to the Israeli company Tehiru Space which has placed an order for about fifty aircraft.