An Argentine Startup Will Participate in a Joint Mission With Nasa

In a significant advancement for the Argentine space industry, a local startup is preparing to participate in a joint mission with NASA, with the goal of sending a transfer spacecraft into space, which will travel to a geostationary orbit at 35,000 kilometers (21,748 miles) in altitude.

This is Epic Aerospace, a company that develops a transportation network for satellites, based on space tugs designed to place small satellites in their operational position without the need for them to have their own engines or fuel.

Meanwhile, a cooperation agreement was also signed between Epic Aerospace and VENG, an Argentine aerospace company with state participation, in order to strengthen public-private collaboration in research and technological development in the space sector.

Additionally, the libertarian president of VENG, Roberto Yasielski, director of the Space Systems Engineering program at the National University of San Martín, is working to continue promoting the development of the Argentine space industry under the Government of Javier Milei.

On this occasion, Epic Aerospace's technology will be tested during the launch of the Athena lunar lander, developed by the company Intuitive Machines, as part of the IM-2 mission.

The launch is scheduled within a four-day window starting on February 26, 2025, from the Kennedy Space Center, and is part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, through which NASA contracts private companies to carry out missions to the Moon.

A few days before the launch, the Secretary of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Darío Genua, visited Epic Aerospace's technical testing facility in Ezeiza, where he was able to closely observe the advancements that will be sent to space, in addition to the equipment and tests conducted on the tugs' thrusters, which are the central component of the project.

Epic Aerospace

The growing demand for small satellites for telecommunications, Earth observation, and other applications has driven the need for efficient systems to transport these devices to their operational orbit. It was in this context that this Argentine startup was born.

The project is led by Argentine engineer Ignacio Belieres Montero, 27 years old, who proposed creating a network of space tugs and space transports that facilitate the precise and autonomous positioning of satellites that do not have their own propulsion systems.

"The company's goal is to place small satellites that don't carry engines or fuel in their exact orbit," explained Belieres Montero. The development of these vehicles is the result of hard work testing and optimizing the thrusters of their space tugs.

Within the IM-2 mission, developed by NASA and the company Intuitive Machines, the Argentine startup will send its orbital tug into space, an innovative system designed for the precise transportation and positioning of satellites.

The launch, which will take place from the Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is scheduled to begin on February 26, 2025. This event will mark a milestone in the exploration of the lunar south pole and represent a significant advancement in the development of new space technologies.