15.06.2025
Credit: POLARIS Spaceplanes
POLARIS Spaceplanes has secured €5.4 million in new funding through an oversubscribed top-up to its recent seed round.
Founded in 2019, POLARIS Spaceplanes is developing a multipurpose spaceplane and hypersonic transport system called AURORA. With the addition of an expendable upper stage, the spaceplane is designed to be capable of delivering payloads of up to 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit.
On 13 June, the company announced that it had completed an oversubscribed top-up to its seed funding round. The extension was co-led by Capnamic Ventures Bremen and Spacewalk VC, with significant contributions from Dienes Holding and E2MC Ventures. With the additional €5.4 million, POLARIS has now raised a total of €12.4 million.
In an update published on LinkedIn, the company explained that the new funding would be used to bring its first commercial product to market, pre-fund upcoming customer contracts, and prepare for a planned large funding round.
Since its founding, POLARIS has been developing progressively larger prototypes to validate key technologies and operational concepts. The company is currently working on two demonstrators, MIRA II and MIRA III. Each vehicle measures approximately five metres in length and is equipped with jet turbines for takeoff and landing, as well as one of the company’s in-house-developed AS-1 aerospike rocket engines for hypersonic flight.
In November 2024, the company completed the first in-flight ignition of its aerospike engine, which was integrated into the MIRA II demonstrator. The LOX/kerosene-fuelled AS-1 rocket engine is capable of producing approximately 1 kN of thrust.
In addition to ongoing testing of its MIRA II and MIRA III demonstrators, the company is also developing in-flight refuelling capabilities to extend the range and increase the payload capacity of its AURORA system. POLARIS has already completed several flights with its ALEDA and Mini MIRA II demonstrators, which focused on close-proximity formation flying. In early May, the company announced that it was preparing for its first docking experiments.
Quelle: European Spaceflight LTD
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POLARIS Spaceplanes Prepares for Key In-Flight Refuelling Milestone
Credit: POLARIS Spaceplanes
Germany’s POLARIS Spaceplanes is preparing to attempt a key milestone in its development of in-flight refuelling capabilities for its AURORA multipurpose spaceplane and hypersonic transport system.
AURORA is an uncrewed platform designed for hypersonic flight testing and, with the addition of an expendable upper stage, capable of deploying satellites into orbit. During the take-off and landing phases, the vehicle will be powered by four turbofan engines. When conducting hypersonic testing or launching payloads into orbit, AURORA’s two aerospike engines will be fired. POLARIS is currently planning to begin operational flights of AURORA in 2028.
In early 2024, POLARIS Spaceplanes announced that Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) had backed the development of an in-flight refuelling capability. This capability would extend AURORA’s operational range and boost its maximum payload capacity.
By May 2024, the company announced that it had received approval from the country’s Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport to begin a seven-month flight testing campaign over the Baltic Sea. This testing included two small demonstrators, ALEDA and Mini MIRA II, developed as progressively larger testbeds for key technologies required by AURORA.
To date, testing has included dozens of automated close-proximity formation flights. According to a 29 April update, POLARIS is now preparing for its first docking experiments, which the company says will begin “soon.”
The primary aim of the experimentation is to develop the technology that will enable the refuelling of AURORA’s kerosene tank. However, in its original announcement, the company revealed that it would, as a subtask, explore the possibility of future refuelling with liquid oxygen.
Quelle: European Spaceflight LTD