A detailed analysis of French launch startup Latitude
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Everything you need to know about Latitude
I’ll be honest, when I started this analysis I felt a little pressure to make it as well-researched as my ArianeGroup piece which attracted so many of you to this newsletter. As a result, I have an extraordinarily detailed analysis of Latitude that probably only appeals to a small segment of you. If you’re in that segment, enjoy. If not, I promise to try to make next week’s main story a little more exciting.
For the sake of not making this confusing, I have referred to the company as Latitude even when an event occurred at a time the company was still called Venture Orbital Systems.
A complicated beginning
Latitude was officially founded in 2019 by Stanislas Maximin, Ilan Saidi-Bekerman, and Corentin Coste. However, at that time it was not called Latitude or even Venture Orbital Systems for that matter. According to the French company registry, Latitude started life as Prometheus Space Industries with its headquarters in Nanterre just outside of Paris and approximately €25,000.
Very little reference to that original company remains. All I could find was a Tweet from Stanislas Maximin describing the company as a “French New Space startup developing cutting-edge technologies to serve the CubeSat market” and the company’s logo on a The Space List entry.
The company’s actual beginnings seem to predate this 2019 founding, however. Both Stanislas Maximin and Corentin Coste have the start date of their involvement with the company as September 2018 on their LinkedIn profiles. Ilan Saidi-Bekerman appears to have joined in July 2019 just after Prometheus Space Industries was registered.
Things get interesting, or maybe confusing is the better word, when Kevin Monvoisin joins the picture. According to Monvoisin’s LinkedIn page, he joined the company as a co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) in April 2019 bringing some much-needed experience to a very young founding team (both Stanislas and Ilan were just 20 when they founded the company). The thing is that Corentin Coste states on his LinkedIn page that he served as the company’s CTO from September 2018 to June 2020. Does that mean from April 2019 to June 2020 the company had two CTOs? Additionally, although Monvoisin claims to be a co-founder, the documentation does not appear to mention his name or hint that he received a share of the company in the original founding paperwork. Could all this be the reason that Coste decided to leave in favour of launching his next startup, Soren? I tried to reach out to Coste, but have not heard anything back.
Needless to say, the beginnings of Latitude appear to have been a little messy. In 2020, however, the company seems to have dealt with its internal politics, changed its name to Venture Orbital Systems, moved from Nanterre to Reims, and, to close off the year, secured €750,000 in seed funding.
The evolution of Zephyr
Thanks to a combination of some old tweets and Wayback Machine snapshots, I discovered an early Zephyr design that measured 11 metres tall and was capable of carrying just 40 kg payloads to low Earth orbit (LEO). This version of the rocket was, however, referred to as version 2.1, so there were definitely at least two iterations before it.
By August 2020, the rocket had grown to 12 metres with a diameter of 1 metre and was now capable of carrying 80 kg payloads to LEO. The rocket had also lost a first stage engine, going from seven Navier Mk1 engines to just six. At the time, the company explained that the reason for the change was a nearly two-fold improvement in thrust from the Navier engines. This variant of the rocket was referred to as version 2.4.
In early 2021 the rocket again grew, going from 12 to 15 metres with a new diameter of 1.2 metres. The payload capacity remained the same from the version 2.4 variant. Around this time, the company also introduced Boreal, a suborbital technology demonstrator that was expected to debut in 2023. This concept was, however, quickly abandoned, with the company selecting to focus all its effort on developing Zephyr.
The latest version of Zephyr was announced with the company’s Series A and rebranding announcement in June 2022. This latest version of the rocket stands at 17 metres tall while retaining its 1.2-metre diameter. There is some conflicting evidence regarding the height of the vehicle with the Latitude entry on the NewSpace Alliance, on which Stanislas Maximin serves as president, website stating that Zephyr is 18 metres tall. I’m inclined to believe the Latitude website and its 17 metres. The rocket’s first stage also makes space for three additional Navier engines for a total of nine, all of which are the upgraded Mk2 variant. The second stage features a single vacuum-optimized Navier Mk2 engine. The main structure of the rocket will be constructed from composite materials.
Zephyr’s current form is capable of deploying 100 kg payloads to LEO. This is particularly interesting considering that Stanislas Maximin Tweeted in December 2020 that there was “no market for 100-150kg.” To save Stanislas from a Peter Beck eating his hat moment, I will say that this observation is from a translated Twitter conversation and I may very well have misunderstood what was being said.
The maiden flight for Zephyr is currently targeted for 2024 from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. Interestingly, this target hasn’t changed since at least December 2020. Considering how much the vehicle has evolved since then, it’s hard to understand how the launch date has not.
When Zephyr is fully operational, Latitude has envisioned being able to launch at a cadence of one flight per week. That is, surprisingly, not the company’s most ambitious launch cadence target. In February 2021, La Chronique Spatiale reported that the company expected to be launching 20 flights per year by 2026. This would be a staggering achievement just two years after a maiden flight. For context, Rocket Lab’s Electron was first successfully launched in 2018, and in 2020 Rocket Lab launched seven Electron flights. And this was at a time when there was far less competition in the small launch vehicle market.
A final element about the vehicle to note is that in September 2022 Latitude signed an agreement with Flying Wales to utilize rigid airships to transport Zephyr stages to Scotland for launch. This sounds incredible, but also a little fanciful. I definitely stand to be corrected, but transporting rocket stages via an airship to the very windy tips of Scotland doesn’t sound altogether realistic. This is not even mentioning the fact that Flying Whales is itself a startup and that they have yet to actually build one of their LCA60T airships. There are many transport planes with more than enough capacity for the small Zephyr stages that would be far more practical.
Propulsion
According to a December 2020 Les Echos article, the company initially tapped Lisi Aerospace to produce the engines. However, I can’t find any reference to this project on either company’s website. What is confirmed is that in March 2022 Latitude tapped Saturne Technology to produce the additively manufactured components of the engine.
Apart from the engines utilizing a LOX/RP-1 bipropellant not a lot of additional information is known about the Navier engines. However, we do know that the first Navier Mk1 engine has been completed by Saturne Technology.
This first prototype of the engine is expected to be test fired before the end of the year. It is, however, only a stepping stone in the company’s road to the launchpad. The first flight version of Zephyr will utalise the upgraded Mk2 engine, which, as far as I can see, is only expected after testing of the initial prototype is complete.
The Navier MK2 engines will utalise electrical propellant pumps developed by Orbital Machines.
The Norwegian company is itself a startup, having been founded in 2018. To date, the company has raised €300,000 and, in addition to Latitude, is developing propellant pumps for the crowd-funded crewed launch program Copenhagen Suborbitals and their Spica rocket. According to a July 4 post from Orbital Machines, the oxidizer CAD-design for the Zephyr propellant pump has passed a final design review, with the company moving on to manufacture the first prototype.
Testing of the Navier engines will be completed at ArianeGroup’s facilities in Vernon. This unlikely agreement will see Latitude testing the first iteration of its Navier engine before the end of this year.
Financials
By the end of 2021 Latitude had a burn rate of approximately €115,000 a month with a staff of around 30. With approximately €204,000 in cash on hand, the company was left with a rather short runway moving into 2022. Luckily, Latitude managed to secure its €10-million Series A by June 2022.
Since the beginning of 2022, Latitude has been on an aggressive hiring run, adding an additional 40 members to the team for a total staff complement of around 70 people. This likely pushes up their burn rate to well over €210,000 a month on the increase in salaries alone. With all the other expenses added, Latitude’s burn rate is likely significantly higher than that. Similar launch companies of comparable size and development progress have burn rates of between €400,000 and €500,000 a month.
Interestingly, after a thorough review of the LinkedIn profiles of Latitude employees, it appears that the company hired no fewer than 19 of its new staff members between January and June 2022 before the Series A announcement. That’s a more than 60 increase in the total size of the company in six months at a time when they didn’t appear to have very much money on hand. This would indicate that Latitude was pretty certain that their Series A funding round was going to be favourable. This is not really that surprising since many of its investors returned for the Series A funding round.
This section was completed with a lot of help, patience, and understanding from my amazing partners at Capitol Momentum.
Funding
Latitude received a €50,000 grant and CNES technical assistance for the development of its Navier rocker engine as part of R&D Pitch Day Challenge in June 2020. From what I can gather, this is the first bit of funding the company received from an external source.
In December 2020 the company got its first real money receiving €750,000 in seed funding from UI Investissement through its IRPAC Création fund, a “business angel”, the PIA 3 scheme (State and Grand Est Region), and Bpifrance. The funding was expected to accelerate the design of the launcher by recruiting 11 engineers already associated with the project and filling five new roles by the end of 2021.
In January 2021, Latitude l was accepted into the Région Grand Est’s Scal'E-nov accelerator programme. Acceptance into the programme came with a loan of up to €150,000 to accelerate the company’s development, and a grant of €30,000 to recruit a business development manager.
In May 2021, Latitude announced that it had received a €100,000 grant as part of the Grand Est region's “Aid for the first developments of the Start-Up” scheme. The grant was specifically awarded to aid the company with the development of Zephyr's aluminum cryogenic tanks.
The first major injection of capital came in June 2022 with the announcement that Latitude had closed a €10 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Crédit Mutuel Innovation and Expansion with participation from Bpifrance, UI Investissement, Comat, Nicomatic, and ADF. The funding was to be utilised to accelerate the development of the company’s Navier rocket engine. It was also to be used to continue the development of the rocket’s tanks, structures, fairing, and onboard electronics and software.
This largest round of funding was the first to prompt Latitude to issue new shares. From June to September of this year, the company issued new shares three times. While two of the three represent 1% or less of the company and therefore are not all that significant, on 26 July the company completed a major issuing of new shares to coincide with the Series A funding round. Following the issuing of these shares, the shares of the founders were diluted down to a little over 56% of the company.
According to a Dealroom estimate, Latitude is valued at €40 to 60 million following the closure of its Series A funding round. However, Capitol Momentum calculates that depending on the makeup of the €10 million in funding (if it was entirely equity or a mix of equity and debt), this estimate is significantly higher than the reality. If the Series A was 100% equity, Capitol Momentum estimates Latitude likely has a valuation of between €20 to 25 million.
In early October, Latitude received funding for its XANTHOS project as part of the space component of the France 2030 initiative. France 2030 seeks to sustainably transform key national sectors through R&D and industrial investment. €1.55B of the total funding has been earmarked for space. The early October announcement revealed 15 projects that received a combined €65 million in funding, one of which was the Latitude XANTHOS project. The unspecified funding received by Latitude will be used to support the development of the company’s Navier MK2 engine.
Subsidiary
As I was looking through the company's records and Stanislas Maximin’s LinkedIn page, I rediscovered that Astreos is a subsidiary of Latitude. The company was founded in February 2021 and offers launch brokering services to customers looking to launch cubesats and nanosats. Stanislas serves as the company’s CEO, but much of the work being done by Astreos appears to be led by COO Clémence Cambourian.
Although I couldn’t find any launch agreements, Astreos does have a deal with Comat to use the company’s deployer for nanosat and cubesat flights. The agreement is part of a deal struck between Comat and Latitude to utilize the deployer aboard Zephyr flights. Until Zephyr moves into operational service, Astreos will make utilize the deployer for brokered flights aboard other vehicles.
Conclusion
Latitude has a lot of political support in France, and that is a valuable commodity for a startup to have. In addition to the political support, the company is flush with Series A cash, filled with new talent, and progressing towards the first test firing of its propulsion system. It still has a long way to go, and I predict that the 2024 maiden launch date will likely slip a year or two at least. The company has also told me that it will require additional funding rounds to get its vehicle to the launchpad for a maiden flight. Its investors, though, many of which have stuck around through multiple financing rounds, seem to be confident that Latitude has what it takes to muscle into what is turning into a very competitive European small launch market.
We have liftoff! - Netherlands-based suborbital launch company T-Minus Engineering announced that it has successfully launched a pair of its Kingfisher rockets. The rockets were launched from the Outer Hebrides in the UK over a two-week campaign. Both rockers reach an approximate altitude of 185 kilometres exceeding March 6. The 200 mm solid rocket motor utilized aboard the Kingfisher's first stage was developed in-house by T-Minus and will also be utilized aboard the company's Barracuda launch vehicle.
Space Rider has a copycat - Luxembourg-based Space Cargo Unlimited announced its REV1 spacecraft, which will be dedicated to in-orbit manufacturing. The design leverages "the heritage of Space Rider and IXV." According to a press release, REV1 will be capable of being reused for 20 missions, with the mission lasting approximately three months each. The company is currently raising money for the venture, but they've already secured Thales Alenia Space and CNES as partners. It has also received funding from Expansion, a French investment fund. The first REV1 flight is expected to occur in 2025.
Who needs rock stars when you have ESA astronauts - ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher revealed on Twitter that ESA has completed its new astronaut selection process. The agency is preparing to make the announcement of its new astronaut class in late November. This is only the third time that the agency has recruited new astronaut candidates.
No entry while we’re testing spaceplanes - German spaceplane startup POLARIS Raumflugzeuge has announced that its restricted airspace application has been granted by the Deutsche Flugsicherung and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. The company requires dedicated restricted airspace for flight testing of a new vehicle that is significantly heavier than earlier demonstrators. The area covers "an airport close to the German coast as well as adjacent waters, with a total area of approximately 260 square kilometres.
How low can you go - ESA's Navigation Directorate is planning an in-orbit demonstration of new navigation satellites that will orbit just a few hundred kilometres in altitude. The new satellites will supplement Europe's 23 222-km-distant Galileo satellites providing "added-value" signals to improve positioning, navigation, and timing services. The new satellites will be comparatively small with a mass below 70 kg, compared to a 700 kg current Galileo operational satellite.
The Americans go to the Swiss for quality - Swiss space tech company Beyond Gravity was awarded a contract from US launch company United Launch Alliance (ULA) to produce 38 payload fairings. The fairing will be utilized aboard Amazon Kuplier missions aboard its Vulcan rocket. To handle the volume, Beyond Gravity is doubling its production capacity in the US and is working with ULA to build a new manufacturing facility in Alabama by early 2024.
RadioShack for satellites - Swiss space tech company Beyond Gravity announced that it has delivered 28 flight antennas to Northrop Grumman for NASA and NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System. Eight of the new antennas are expected to be utilized aboard JPSS-2 which is expected to be launched in November.
At this point, I was sick of translating documents from French into English - The Alliance NewSpace France published its 50-page "Ambition NewSpace 2027" report outlining the status and future of the French NewSpace industry. I'll be honest, I didn't read it all as it's 50 pages of a language I don't speak, but the pretty pictures include some amazing breakdowns of the entire French NewSpace market. There are also 24 recommendations that are, you guessed it, also in French. They cover everything from strengthening training and communication to adopting universal standards, or at least that's what Google Translate seems to think they say.
If this was the mob, you’d pay your bills on time - Danish satellite manufacturer GomSpace announced it would delay the publication of its interim report for Q3 2022. The company cited an extended review process of the accounting and local legal treatment related to the suspension of a large customer project. The loss of the project has lowered its review outlook from SEK 264 to 292 million (approximately €24.17 to 26.73 million) down to SEK 190 to 250 million (approximately €17.40 to 22.89 million).
The same power with none of the nasty fumes - ESA and ArianeGroup have signed a memorandum of understanding to proceed with the development of a demonstrator of a green engine variant of its BERTA engine. The engine will be utilized aboard the ASTRIS Ariane 6 kick stage, which is a project being undertaken by ArianeGroup under an ESA contract. The new BERTA Green engine will utilize green non-toxic storable propellants and will produce 5 kN of thrust, exactly the same as the original BERTA engine.
An Italian gives a dual citizen a ride - Italian space logistics startup D-Orbit has signed a launch contract with AAC SpaceQuest, a US subsidiary of UK-based space tech company AAC Clyde Space. The agreement covers the launch and deployment of an initial two satellites, based on SpaceQuest’s newest generation of maritime satellite design, with an option for an additional two spacecraft The first two satellites will be carried aboard a D-Orbit ION space tug in Q4 of 2023.
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Andrew Parsonson has been reporting on space and spaceflight for over five years. He has contributed to SpaceNews and, most recently, the daily Payload newsletter. In late 2021 he launched European Spaceflight as a way to promote the continent's excellence in space. This newsletter is an extension of that mission.
If you’d like to get in touch to discuss European space or anything really, you can connect with Andrew on Twitter or send me an email to andrewp@europeanspaceflight.com.