---
title: "This Startup Wants to Launch Satellites from Balloons"
description: "A startup is developing a system that could allow spacecraft and satellites to launch after being dropped from a massive hot-air balloon at 60,000 feet."
date: "2019-11-25"
modified: "2019-11-25"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/startup-launch-satellites-balloon"
categories:
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "balloon"
  - "satellites"
  - "the digest"
---

# This Startup Wants to Launch Satellites from Balloons

![A startup is developing a system that could allow spacecraft and satellites to launch after being dropped from a massive hot-air balloon at 60,000 feet.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/startup-launch-satellites-balloons.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Leo Aerospace\</em\>*

## Rockoon

Los Angeles startup Leo Aerospace is developing a system that could allow spacecraft to launch after being dropped from massive hot-air balloons at 60,000 feet, [*Space.com* reports](<https://www.space.com/balloon-launch-rockets-leo-aerospace.html>).

The high altitude balloon platform, called Regulus, features multiple thrusters to maintain its orientation. A special rail system attached underneath allows rockets up to 33-feet in length to be launched, saving the fuel required to get to the balloons' elevation.

## Rocklets

The relatively small rockets have a maximum payload of just 126 pounds.

The entire Regulus system, including the balloon and a rocket, can fit inside a 40 foot shipping container and be placed on semi-trucks, ships, and even airplanes, according to the [company's website](<https://www.leoaerospace.com/regulus-platform>).

The company gave a brief presentation of their concept during the U.S. Air Force's first Space Pitch Day earlier this month. The company received $750,000 from the Air Force at the event.

## Thin Air

Individual launches will be pretty expensive, at least to start — about one to three times as much as "ride-share" rockets from the likes of SpaceX charge, according to *Space.com*.

The company claims to start testing its high-altitude platform in mid 2020. Even without rockets to launch, the balloon could help test technology for future missions to Mars, as the thin air at high altitudes can provide a good Mars analogue, according to *Space.com*.

**READ MORE:** [Space Startup Aims to Launch Cubesats on Balloon-Lofted Rockets](<https://www.space.com/balloon-launch-rockets-leo-aerospace.html>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on balloons:** *[These Scientists Want to Launch Satellites From Steam Balloons](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/launch-satellites-steam-balloons>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)