WE ARE

TARDIGRADE SPACE SYSTEMS

Reliable. Affordable. Flexible. Rockets.

WE MAKE

LAUNCH VEHICLES

Safer. Greener. Non-Toxic. Propulsion.

About Us

Our mission is to make space more accessible by lowering launch price, improving reliability, and assuring safety.

Tardigrade Space Systems was founded by recognized space and manufacturing professionals. Our high-precision fabrication facilities are located in Newtown, Connecticut USA.

Launch Vehicle

A reliable, safe, and expendable launch vehicle for putting 3700 kg into LEO affordably with reduced environmental impact. It is especially well-suited for building large LEO constellations.

Estimated launch cost: US$ 15M
Propellants: 90% hydrogen peroxide & JP-8 / AP-1
Safer to launch
Less damaging to the environment to launch
Made of non-toxic and renewable materials

Keeping It Simple

No cryogenics, optimized design, and fewer parts mean:

Lower costs
Faster manufacturing
Greater reliability
Fewer point of failure
Greater flexibility
Easier logistics
Shorter wait time between launches
2nd stage can stay in orbit after separation for short-duration missions with an attached piggyback payload (for research and educational purposes).

Making It Safe & Responsible

Consider the benefits of:

Reduced risk of fire/explosion: propellants do not ignite when mixed in their storable form.
No toxic substances are used, reducing health hazards and potential accidents.
Propellants have a much smaller impact to the ozone layer compared to solid fuels or nitric oxidizers.
No cryogenics means safer working conditions for launch and logistics support staff.
After payload separation all parts of the launch vehicle are deorbited, reducing the amount of space debris.

Engines General Data

Design ideology:

Reliable
Minimum moving parts
Non-toxic propellants
Suitable for additive and traditional manufacturing

Advantages:

Can be throttled to ~50% nominal thrust
Restartable in flight
Unlimited ignitions
Bipropellant and monopropellant modes

Auxiliary

A small engine for steering the 2nd stage. Can also be used for propulsion of an upper stage (space tug)

Experimental unit to test combustion and validate engine design

Demonstration Combustion Chamber

Experimental unit to allow safe and controlled testing of combustion for research and education.

Available for partnership with Universities.

Main Propulsion Engines

Main

Seven provide propulsion of the 1st stage

Preliminary design complete

Vacuum Engine

One provides propulsion of the 2nd stage

Shares 90% of design with the main engine

Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided without any obligations or warranties as to its accuracy. All numbers are based on preliminary estimations and are subject to change without prior notice. Tardigrade Space Systems LLC refuses any and all liability for damage, loss of profit, and other charges rising out of the use of the information provided on this page. In particular, Tardigrade Space Systems LLC or any of its owners and employees can not be held responsible for the consequences of any action, or the lack thereof, made by a third party based on the use of the information provided. Any such consequences shall be at the sole responsibility of the respective parties.