GOLauncher

GOLauncher-1 (captive carry test) [Generation Orbit]

GOLauncher-2 [Generation Orbit]

GOLauncher is a small air-launched suborbital and orbital launch vehicle developed by Generation Orbit.

The GOLauncher rockets are based on hybrid rocket motors using a Paraffin / Liquid Oxygen fuel combination. The motors are under development by SPG (Space Propulsion Group).

GOLauncher-1 is a suborbital launch system consisting of a Gulfstream III carrier aircraft and a single stage oxygen-kerosene-fueled rocket. It will be capable to launch payloads up to 90 kg. The propulsion of GOLauncher-1 was originally to be developed by Ventions. In 2018 it was announced, that it used the Hadley engine by Ursa Major Technologies.

A first captive carry test was conducted in late 2017. A first flight was planned for late 2019. In October 2018, the GOLauncher-1 received the USAF designation X-60A for hypersonic flight research. Its aim was to boost flight frequency and reduce the costs associated with advancing hypersonic technology.

The X-60A was intended to be carried to altitude by a business jet-class aircraft, such as a Gulfstream III. Once released during a climb at high subsonic speeds, the X-60A ignites its liquid-fueled rocket engine to accelerate to hypersonic cruise speeds or achieve maximum altitude. Its nose-mounted payload section can carry up to 320 kg of various equipment—such as a small scramjet engine—to expose them to hypersonic flight conditions.

By December 2017, three captive-carry flights using full-scale inert GOLauncher 1 vehicles had been completed. In March 2019, the X-60A successfully passed its critical design review, and by January 2020, ground tests and static firings of its propulsion system had been concluded. At that point, the first free flight was scheduled for March 2020; however, in February, AFRL announced a postponement to "later that year," without providing specific reasons for the delay.

The last press release concerning X-60 appeared in 2020, so it has likely put on hold or cancelled.

The GOLauncher-2 orbital launch system consists of a Gulfstream III carrier aircraft and a two stage hybrid-fueled rocket. It will be capable to launch a payload up to 45 kg to an orbit of up to 740 km. The second stage, based on GOLauncher-1, is to be developed by Ventions.

The planned launch site in Cecil Field Airport near Jacksonville, Florida.

NASA has contracted in October 2013 with Generation Orbit for a launch of three 3U cubesats. The NASA requirement under NEXT got rolled into VCLS as the payload size got larger and outside the capability of GOLauncher 2 to effectively complete the mission.