KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Starfighters Space, Inc. ("Starfighters" or the "Company") (NYSE American: FJET), the space company operating the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ supersonic aircraft, today announced it is advancing STARLAUNCH™ 1 toward a planned December captive-carry flight. STARLAUNCH™ is the Company’s air-launch program, with STARLAUNCH™ 1 serving as its initial suborbital development vehicle.
Starfighters has finalized the STARLAUNCH™ 1 airframe design and has ordered the flight hardware from Italian engineering company Robby Moto Engineering S.R.L. ("RME"). The December flight would be conducted between Starfighters’ base at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the FAA-licensed Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, expecting to provide a demonstration of the rocket’s flight characteristics while also allowing the Company to test aircraft integration and establish procedures for future STARLAUNCH™ missions.
With STARLAUNCH™ 1 attached under one wing, the flight may provide an opportunity to fly the Company’s recently-completed Wind Tunnel in the Sky™ hardware under the other wing on a customer-funded rideshare mission, while also serving as a counterweight to improve aerodynamic stability.
"The planned captive-carry flight would move STARLAUNCH™ 1 from design and ground-based development into flight testing," said Tim Franta, CEO of Starfighters Space. "Our approach is deliberately incremental: build the hardware, integrate it with the aircraft, fly it, collect data, and use those results to advance toward separation and powered flight. This work on STARLAUNCH™ 1 is also expected to generate engineering and operational experience to inform the future development of STARLAUNCH™ 2."
After receiving the inert flight hardware in November at the Company’s Kennedy Space Center hangar, the Starfighters team will assemble and test the rocket-aircraft interface ahead of the flight test. The STARLAUNCH™ 1 and Wind Tunnel in the Sky™ hardware share some common components and interchangeable systems, allowing standard practices for integration with the aircraft.
Data and experience from the December flight will also support work by Starfighters’ propulsion partner, Vaya Defense & Space, in their development of a hybrid rocket motor aligned with the STARLAUNCH™ 1 flight-hardware specifications.
“December’s captive-carry mission would essentially be step one of a multi-flight campaign, building processes for our launch team while capturing data for the FAA and the Space Force as we move toward propulsive air launch,” said Piercarlo Ciacchi, Director of Flight Operations and Chief Pilot of Starfighters Space. “Our plan is to follow the December mission with a drop test over the Atlantic Ocean followed by a demonstration of the integrated propulsion system. Development of STARLAUNCH™ 2 would be informed by these missions, concurrent with the STARLAUNCH™ 1 development.”
About Starfighters Space, Inc.
Starfighters Space (NYSE American: FJET) operates its fleet of F-104 aircraft at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Midland International Air & Space Port in Texas, making it the only company in the world with the commercial capability to fly at sustained Mach 2+ speeds, supporting a variety of aerospace applications. The iconic F-104 jets are configurable as a platform for air-launched payloads, training for pilots, and to support RDT&E (Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation) for hypersonic technologies, advanced materials, missile defense systems, microgravity science, spaceflight hardware validation, and defense electronic systems.
Forward-Looking Statements:Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially due to risks and uncertainties affecting the Company’s business, including those described in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and are made as of the date of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.
