3D-Printed Rocket-Fuel Firm’s Bolt Fired at White Sands

X-Bow Systems has launched its first vehicle – a modular boost rocket it calls Bolt – in a test carried out in partnership with the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The test – designated Responsive Development Experiment (ReDX) – took place on 26 July at White Sands Missile Range, NM, at the end of an 11-day campaign and after a three-month effort that had seen X-Bow’s team design and build a new test site and complete the company’s first large motor static fire. A second mission, sponsored by US Army Space and Missile Defense Command and DoD’s Innovation Unit, is expected to follow, with further launches planned with other customers and sponsors over the next two years.

“The ReDX flight test is the first example of what we expect to be a fruitful collaboration between the Laboratory and X-Bow Systems,” said Los Alamos’ Associate Director for Weapons Physics, Charlie Nakhleh. “This partnership will enable the Laboratory to leverage the revolution in commercial space flight and provide our scientists and engineers with rapid and cost-effective access to experimental flight test data. Experiments conducted at a high cadence are the surest path to learning and innovation and provide one of the best ways we have to train a new generation of scientific and engineering staff.”

“Bolt’s successful flight had fantastic first stage burn and payload stage separation,” Jason Hundley, the company’s CEO, said. “This launch puts us in an extremely strong position to accelerate the capabilities of this sub-orbital and orbital family of vehicles and to deliver our customers their desired mission profiles. The inherent simplicity of our Ballesta solid rocket motor and Bolt vehicle architecture allowed us to complete this highly efficient integration and tactically responsive launch campaign.”