The Madrid orbital model aims to prove a cheaper road for orbital entry

Francesco CacCiatore is skeptical declares itself. However, after spending two decades in the European aviation industry and beating, as he put it, a “crisis”, an undeniable optimistic proof of: a space company began.

He said in an interview with him recently: “You ask yourself,” What do I do? “I offered some interesting opportunities, but then I collapsed and realized that I wanted to try to build something myself.”

This has turned into one of the most difficult problems to fly: re -enter. Along with the Founder VíCTOR Gómez García, the foundations of CacCiatore The tropical modelA start -up company based in Madrid, a capsule building to re -enter to cancel new markets for the materials that were created in the zero gravity.

In less than two years, with a team consisting of nine and less than a million euros, the company built a test capsule called KID, an introduction to a reintealable spacecraft in the future called Kestrel. The child is deliberately minimal: weighing about 25 kilograms and about 16 inches, with no payment. This will lead to the first time that you start starting devices on the orbit.

Customers include in this first illustrative mission a Altyr French Space Robotics, the University of Leibniz in Germany, and a third customer who has not been named. To date, the company collected 1.5 million euros of ID4, Demium, Pinama, Evercurious and Akka.

The tropical model was initially published to develop return capsules. The founders first depicted robots in space, but potential customers have repeatedly said what they really want is the ability to go to orbit, stay a little, and return-pass and repeated.

“They don’t want to do one time,” said Kakator. He noticed that startups, companies and companies want to fly often between three and six times a year. Biotechnology companies represent a possible profitable market because minor gravity can allow new materials, medicines and treatments, and these applications often require repeated tests by design.

For this reason, the tropical model chose to build a smaller capsule instead of something like Dragon’s Dragon, which fly astronauts and goods to the international space station. “If you want to fly a hundreds of kilograms or thousands of kilograms, your customer is no longer the load next to the load anymore, this is the destination that you fly,” I explained.

The tropical return market flourishes more on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Varda Space Industries became the first company to put a trade return in 2024, while the exploration company in Europe has achieved a controlled re -introduction with its test vehicle this summer.

American startups such as VARDA and the coup space benefit from some unique background winds: In particular, the Ministry of Defense and other agencies have pokeed millions in tests and delivery of non -audio delivery offers, and often in the form of unclear financing such as grants or contracts that do not require abandonment of the company’s ownership.

“We don’t get it,” CacCiatore admit. “This is one of the reasons that make us build for sale to clients from the beginning, because we do not reach anywhere otherwise. We have succeeded a little more, so we need to be more sporty perhaps.”

The first launch is approaching quickly. The tropical model will fly its first task in about three months with an unveiled launch provider, with three clients. The child will not be recovered; Instead, the goal is to separate from the missile, transfer data from orbit, survive from the intense heat and ultra -sounded re -entry speeds, and the Bing home at least once before the capsule effect in an unannounced area.

He said: “We designed the car not to have to land on a specific location.”

The second task in 2026 will be seized, with a payment system and an umbrella to direct the capsule to the Azer, where the Portuguese Space Agency is developing a space interest. Like the first task, there will be no tropical stage – it will only be launched, spending about 30 minutes in the fine gravity before returning – but in this case, the tropical model will be able to recover the car and the load inside.

Cacciatore was proud of what the team has accomplished so far, but it was clear on the long way forward: “Until we fly, we did not do much,” he said. “Words are nice, but flying is the final test.”