Vehicles · Starlight
Starlight.
A proposed two-stage launch vehicle architecture for low Earth orbit, designed around full recovery and rapid re-flight.
The thesis
A rocket that flies once is a fireworks display. A rocket that flies a hundred times is an airline. The Starlight program evaluates every seal, actuator, and line of flight software around a single design objective: again.
Ascent
Two stages. Both come home.
The Starlight architecture proposes that both booster and upper stage return under propulsion, avoiding parachute and ocean-recovery systems. The objective is a direct cycle from landing to inspection, loading, and re-flight.
Vehicle specification
Starlight.
Targets for the initial operational configuration. Everything below is a design goal, not a flown result. We'll update these numbers when the hardware does.
Class
Two-stage, fully reusable
Regime
Low earth orbit
Payload to LEO (target)
1,500 kg
Reuse target
100% of dry mass
Turnaround target
48 hours
Propellants
LOX / Methane
Landing mode
Propulsive VTVL, both stages
Avionics
Pulsar flight computer
Propulsion
Full-flow staged combustion. Methane. Deep throttle.
The Starlight engine cluster is designed for aggressive re-flight. Deep throttling enables both hover and landing at low fuel margins. Methane keeps combustion clean and regeneratively fuels the pumps that keep it running.
LOX / CH₄
Propellant
Full-flow
Cycle
20 : 1
Throttle ratio (target)