X-Bow Systems announced June 14, 2022 that the company had successfully completed a full-scale static fire test of its 32-inch diameter ‘Ballesta’ solid rocket motor.
This milestone test establishes X-Bow as the first new supplier of strategic sized motors in decades and demonstrates the company’s ability to bring much-needed competition to the US industrial base. The test, which was conducted last week, also keeps X-Bow on schedule for a July 2022 sub-orbital launch from White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
The Ballesta is the inaugural member of X-Bow’s modular rocket motor family and is the first full-flight ready, test-qualified motor of this size to be designed, developed, and tested by a non-legacy systems integrator in over 30 years. During the test, the motor completed its integrated flight qualification static fire and the critical data collected verified the motor’s nominal performance metrics. X-Bow’s unique tactical approach to motor manufacturing allowed it to be one of the first large scale motors to be assembled and integrated in just four days, in field conditions, with minimal handling equipment.
“The Ballesta demonstrates our commitment and ability to provide our clients with responsive, affordable and high-performance propulsion capabilities” said Mark Kaufman, Chairman, X-Bow Systems. “We committed to successfully testing the Ballesta motor in 2022 and we are proud to have accomplished that ambitious goal.”
“Static firing our own motors has been a key company goal. This successful static fire is a major step forward in this pursuit and is only the first of many milestones ahead,” said Max Vozoff, CTO, X-Bow Systems. “This new internal capability will help accelerate our development and testing efforts.”
“Ballesta’s successful static fire validates our novel tactical approach to developing and supplying Solid Rocket Motors (SRM),” said Jason Hundley, CEO, X-Bow Systems. “X-Bow’s growth and products add competition to the American SRM industrial base and increase the country’s strategic posture at a time when other nations are making significant strides in hypersonics, sub-orbital testing, and tactical responsive space launch. We are proud of what X-Bow has accomplished in just a few short years, and we are excited for what’s to come.”
