Radian Aerospace: Single-Stage to Orbit Spaceplanes
Developing space systems for voyages to and from low-Earth orbit
Rocket launches have long been implemented with modular vessels called stages to provide the astronomical energy needed for takeoff. Once a stage empties its fuel, it detaches and returns to earth to eliminate the weight of the empty tank. While this technique has proven successful, it makes a rocket’s reusability very challenging.
The long sought-after solution to this problem is the development of single-stage to orbit vehicles (SSTOs). SSTOs do not expend hardware components on the way to space, making the craft fully reusable and driving down costs.
Alumni Ventures portfolio company Radian Aerospace is attempting to build the world’s first SSTO horizontal takeoff and landing (HTHL) spaceplane to provide a lower-cost, higher-cadence alternative for transportation to orbit. In addition, horizontal takeoff enables the aircraft to launch more frequently — allowing the company to transport payloads nearly on-demand, similar to an airplane.
Radian CTO Livingston Holder at Iteration22
Hear Radian Co-Founder and CTO Livingston Holder speak at Iteration22, a future-focused conference for engineers hosted by Valispace.
See video policy below.
Shooting for the Moon
Radian is entering a market with high interest and strong growth potential. By leveraging the characteristics of an SSTO and HTHL aircraft, Radian plans to target an existing gap in the spaceflight economy and serve customers with medium-sized payloads (~1,500 – 20,000 lbs) for asset deployment, rendezvous missions, free flight, and point-to-point delivery. The company has gained tremendous support from the public and private aerospace industry, including several U.S. agencies and several leading private space companies, plus LOIs for $1.5 billion.
What We Liked About Radian
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Astronomical Opportunity & Industry Support
Along with other governmental and private stakeholders, NASA is advocating for a robust low-Earth economy. Transportation will be a vital component, and a lower-cost, accessible alternative like Radian's will help serve demand. - Home
Expert Team
Radian’s team has decades of combined experience. The CTO of the company is Livingston Holder, who is a former U.S. Air Force Officer and payload specialist, a 14-year veteran of Boeing (including a role as the head of advanced space transportation), and former program director of Lockheed Martin’s X-33 SSTO spaceplane. Holder has assembled a team of highly regarded experts that are well connected in the aerospace industry. - Home
Established Investors
Radian’s investor syndicate possesses deep aerospace knowledge and shows a high level of engagement in helping Radian grow and efficiently develop its technology.
How We’re Involved
Bascom Ventures (for the University of Wisconsin community) sponsored Alumni Ventures’ investment in Radian’s $27.5 million seed round in 2022 led by Fine Structure Ventures — a VC fund affiliated with the parent company of Fidelity.
Sibling funds invested in the round include Lakeshore Ventures (for the UChicago community), Purple Arch Ventures (for the Northwestern community), and AV’s Deep Tech Fund and Total Access Fund.
AV co-invested alongside EXOR, The Venture Collective, Helios Capital, SpaceFund, Gaingels, The Private Shares Fund, Explorer 1 Fund, Type One Ventures, and others.
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