EPIC AEROSPACE

Epic Aerospace is an aerospace company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina that manufactures and operates orbit transfer vehicles (OTVs), also called space tugs, for in-space transportation of satellites. The company positions its vehicles as "last-mile delivery for satellites": customers buy a slot on a common rideshare launch, and the OTV then carries the payload from the launch vehicle's drop-off orbit to its intended destination, spanning low Earth orbit, geostationary orbit and beyond. Its stated longer-term aim is a network of space tugs providing mobility infrastructure that would allow satellites to move freely and be upgraded once in space.

The company is vertically integrated across propulsion, structures and avionics. Its catalogued propulsion products include a 900N apogee thruster running on 95% high test peroxide (HTP) and kerosene with 310s vacuum specific impulse, 14 bar feed pressure and 270 kg propellant throughput, and a 1N cold-gas thruster pack using nitrogen or helium with 50s or 150s vacuum Isp, 26 bar feed pressure and a sub-60 ms minimum pulse. Epic also produces, stores and exports highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide, upgrading commercial or research grade 60% stock to 95% or 98% concentrations, optionally compliant with "Mil-Spec E" specifications, and offers it at $45/kg (95%) and $65/kg (98%) with a 280 kg minimum order.

Beyond orbital delivery, Epic markets end-to-end mission support, offering its infrastructure and technology to customers from satellite design through operation in space. It operates factories in two countries, each with clean rooms, office space and integration facilities; one is co-located with its test site and HTP production, with in-house machining and welding, while the second sits in a tax-free zone suited to import and export operations and to leveraging space-rated hardware from international partners.

Founding story

Founder Ignacio Alejandro Belieres Montero started Epic Aerospace after dropping out of Stanford University; he was 21 at the time of a January 2020 Forbes profile. Forbes framed the company against the high cost of entry to commercial space activity and quoted Montero: "My overall goal is to build a transport network in space. Soon, anyone will be able to launch a satellite into space. At Epic Aerospace, we want to build the physical layer for a network of satellites in space." His recruiting drew a small team with substantial Argentinian aerospace experience.

Business model

B2B hardware and services: Epic Aerospace sells in-space transportation on its orbit transfer vehicles to satellite operators launching on shared rideshare missions, and also markets its underlying vertically integrated capabilities directly — propulsion systems (a 900N HTP/kerosene apogee thruster and a 1N cold-gas reaction control thruster pack, both priced on inquiry), high test peroxide propellant sold by the kilogram with a 280 kg minimum order, and contract manufacturing of valves, feed systems, structures and complete satellites. Caplight characterizes the customer profile as government contracts, services and consulting, and hardware sales.

Revenue is generated from in-space transportation missions carrying customer satellites to target orbits, sales of propulsion hardware such as apogee and cold-gas thrusters priced on inquiry, sales of 95% and 98% high test peroxide propellant priced per kilogram with shipping and fueling operations quoted separately, and contract manufacturing and end-to-end mission support services.

Traction

The company launched its first orbit transfer vehicle, CHIMERA LEO 1, on the SpaceX Transporter 6 mission and states it is in orbit. Y Combinator lists a team size of 14 and active status; Caplight lists an employee figure of 31 and total funding raised of $250,000. In January 2020, Forbes reported a twelve-person team with over thirty-five years of collective aerospace industry experience covering 200 engine tests, three medium-size launch vehicles and two Argentinian flagship satellites.

Latest developments

Epic Aerospace's first orbit transfer vehicle, CHIMERA LEO 1, launched aboard the SpaceX Transporter 6 mission and the company reports it is in orbit, describing the flight as a first step toward commercializing its in-space transportation services. The company publishes a catalogue of propulsion products and HTP propellant pricing and continues to advertise its two-country factory footprint. Y Combinator lists the company as active with a team of 14.