About:
HYPERION is a reusable two-stage Orbital Factory Vehicle launched from a hydrogen stratospheric platform at 30 km altitude.
Its pressure-fed methalox propulsion minimizes drag and propellant use, while a lightweight aluminum-carbon structure ensures high efficiency and reliability.
Designed for in-orbit manufacturing of ZBLAN optical fibers, protein crystals, and advanced materials, Hyperion enables a new class of orbital production and return missions.
Both stages and the manufacturing module are autonomously recovered.
Payload: 200 kg to 300 km LEO.
Year
2025
Client
Acme Hyperion Ltd.
Industry
Orbital
Goals of the Project:
Propulsion
The vehicle employs a dual-stage pressure-fed LOX/CH₄ system optimized for simplicity, reliability, and reusability.
All systems are fully autonomous, with thrust vectoring and active trajectory correction.
The architecture eliminates turbomachinery and minimizes failure points while maintaining sufficient Δv for orbital insertion.
Manufacturing Module OFV
Volume: 1.2 m³ pressurized environment
Operating Conditions: microgravity, 4 – 200 °C thermal range
Power: Li-ion storage + deployable solar array
Control: Goibniu AI Core – autonomous process management
Primary Applications:
ZBLAN optical fiber production
protein crystal growth
micro-reactor and biotech experiments
advanced material sintering and polymerization
The module is reusable and returns autonomously via parafoil recovery to a designated ocean or land site.
Outcome:
Operations and Mission
Operations and Mission
Launch Altitude: 30 km via hydrogen balloon
Target Orbit: ≈ 300 km LEO (51 – 97° inclination)
Autonomy: full auto-launch and recovery, UHF/Ka-band telemetry, GNSS navigation
Launch Mass: ≈ 9.9 t
Balloon Reusability: 15 cycles
Cost Efficiency: ~ 900 USD/kg to LEO
Environmental Impact: low-emission LOX/CH₄ propellant and pressure-fed architecture
HYPERION is an integrated, low-cost, reusable platform enabling the first generation of autonomous orbital manufacturing systems.
