Asteryx Space — Orbital Microgravity, Made Easy

01 / SERVICES

MICROGRAVITY SERVICES

Orbital conditions,
impossible to reproduce on Earth.

24UPayload Return Capacity

Designed to return a full 24U rack — 35 kg of payload — from Low Earth Orbit, our platform enables access to manufacturing and research conditions that simply cannot be reproduced under gravity.

01

Pharmaceutical crystal growth

Larger, higher-purity protein crystals for next-generation drug discovery and structural biology.

02

High-purity materials & alloys

Convection-free solidification yields metallic structures and composites unattainable on Earth.

03

Orbital biotechnology

Cell cultures, tissue engineering and stem-cell research in a sustained microgravity environment.

04

Next-gen optical fibers

ZBLAN fibers drawn in microgravity exhibit orders-of-magnitude lower attenuation than Earth-made.

05

In-space manufacturing

From semiconductors to ceramics — production processes that benefit from sustained zero-g.

06

Technology demonstrations

Validate hardware, components and processes in a real orbital environment before scaling.

02 / WHY Asteryx

PASSIVE REENTRY ARCHITECTURE

Asteryx is a naturally stable lifting body — capable of passive reentry without active control systems, combining the simplicity of a capsule with the aerodynamic benefits of a winged body.

VS. CLASSICAL LIFTING BODY / SPACE PLANE

Simpler. Lighter. More reliable.

No RCS, no aerodynamic control surfaces, no actuators or guidance algorithms
More available weight and volume for payload
More reliable — fewer failure modes thanks to architectural simplicity
Reduced development time and cost
Fewer certification and flight authorization challenges
Lower insurance costs across the lifecycle

VS. CAPSULE

Reusable. Gentler. Smarter volume.

Reusable across many flights
Smaller reentry decelerations — friendlier to fragile payloads
Better internal volume occupancy efficiency
Architecture upgradeable to a controlled vehicle (not currently in roadmap)

03 / THE VEHICLE

Asteryx v9.1 · TECHNICAL DATA

Built around one idea: stay stable, come home.

A 1 243 mm passive reentry lifting body with an 852 mm span. No reaction control, no aerodynamic surfaces — just a shape that flies itself through atmospheric entry by design.

Request technical brief

VIEW · 4-UP REV. v9.1 SCALE · INDICATIVE Asteryx · 001 Asteryx v9.1 vehicle technical views

Overall length 1243mm Nose to trailing edge, fins included.

Span 852mm Fin tip to fin tip; body span 522 mm.

Height 345mm Keel to canopy. 150 L enclosed volume.

Launch mass ≈95kg Full stack at maximum 24U configuration.

Payload 35kg · 24U Monolithic rack, 240 × 240 × 681 mm.

Trim angle 42.5° Held by the shape alone, above the separatrix.

Deceleration 2–4g Peak load on the payload during reentry.

Control Passive No RCS. No aerodynamic surfaces. No active guidance.

PLATE · 3-UP GENERAL ARRANGEMENT CONFIG. v9.1 DIMENSIONS IN MM

Asteryx v9.1 three-view general arrangement with dimensions

04 / MISSION

FLIGHT PROFILE

Eight steps from rideshare to splashdown.

Asteryx launches as an SSO rideshare payload, flips base-first, fires one or two cold-gas thrusters to deorbit, and then flies the entire entry with no control at all. From the entry interface at 120 km the shape holds its own trim attitude down to parachute deployment and a 5 m/s splashdown.

PLATE · MISSION PROFILE CONFIG. v9.1

Orbit 500km SSO rideshare, shared fairing.

Entry interface 120km No control from here on.

Deorbit Cold gas One or two thrusters, base-first attitude.

Splashdown ≈5m/s Non-pyrotechnic parachute deployment.

05 / INTEGRATION

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

The 24U format did not follow the shape. It produced it.

A monolithic 24U rack sits between x/L 0.28 and 0.82, with 19 L forward for avionics, power and the deorbit system, and 28 L aft for the parachute. The 20 mm thermal protection is applied outside the 12 mm structure, so it consumes no internal volume.

PLATE · LONGITUDINAL SECTION DIMENSIONS IN MM

Asteryx longitudinal section showing the monolithic 24U rack, forward systems bay, aft parachute bay and the 20 mm TPS

Payload mass 35kg Monolithic 24U rack, 240 × 240 × 681 mm.

Forward volume 19L Avionics, power and the deorbit system.

Aft volume 28L Non-pyrotechnic parachute pack.

TPS thickness 20mm Applied outside the 12 mm structure.

06 / GEOMETRY

SHAPE OPTIMISATION

Shaped by constraints optimization.

Ten shape parameters, among the objectives: the smallest external volume able to integrate a 24U rack, with avionics and power. Every constraint applies at once: Thermal, Aerodynamic (L/D, stability, passive trim), etc. Aerodynamics optimises what integration leaves ; never the reverse.

PLATE · GEOMETRY DEFINITION CONFIG. v9.1

Asteryx v9.1 geometry: top view planform, side view camber and cross-sections

07 / TEAM

MANAGEMENT

The people behind the vehicle.

SQ

Founder & CEO

Stéphane Querry, PhD

Founder of Polyvionics (Aerospace research)
Long-standing contractor with CNES (GNC and reentry fields)
Former Head of Avionics and GNC at Equatorial Space Systems

GL

Advisor

Gérard Laruelle, ISAE Supaero

Former Head of the Hypersonic department at Aerospatiale
Former VP Research at EADS Astrium (now ArianeGroup)
Former deputy of ASTech
Member of the Académie de l'Air et de l'Espace

GW

Advisor

German Weht

Hypersonic Aerodynamics and aerothermodynamics, CFD, Flight Dynamics
Researcher at Instituto Universitario Aeronáutico

08 / PARTNERS

ECOSYSTEM

Building Asteryx with industry, agencies and research labs.

PARTNER · To be announced

09 / NEWS

LATEST UPDATES

FOLLOW · LINKEDIN

Latest news, milestones & flight test updates.

Track development, partnerships and announcements directly from our LinkedIn page.

Open LinkedIn

10 / CONTACT

Let's bring it home.

Mission inquiries, payload integration, partnerships, press — get in touch.

contact@asteryx.space LinkedIn

EMAILcontact@asteryx.space

HEADQUARTERSFrance

FOUNDED2026

STAGER&D · Pre-seed

Orbital conditions,impossible to reproduce on Earth.