AIRY SPACE

Early-stage launch company ·
Knoxville, Tennessee

Launch powered from the ground.

Putting a kilogram in orbit takes about two dollars of energy.1 A ride to orbit still costs thousands of dollars per kilogram, because rockets carry that energy with them as heavy fuel. Airy Space is building launch vehicles powered by beams from ground stations, so the energy stays on the ground.

How it works Get in touch

Now: Stage 1 of 4, research and team building

The Airy pattern, the spot a focused beam makes on its target. Computed from I = I0[2J1(x)/x]2. We're named after it.

Watch

The idea in forty-five seconds.

Why launch costs so much

The energy is cheap. The vehicle isn't.

9.4 kWh
Energy in one kilogram moving in low Earth orbit1
$1–2
What that much electricity costs1
$7,000
Price per kilogram on a SpaceX rideshare in 20262

Cost per kilogram to orbit, drawn to scale

Dedicated small rocketRocket Lab Electron, list price3
$25,000
RideshareSpaceX, above the first 50 kg2
$7,000
The energy itselfElectricity, before losses1
0.008% of the top bar, shown at 1 pixel
$1–2

Every bar uses the same scale. The energy bar really is that small.

A rocket stores its energy in propellant, and then has to lift that propellant too. The rocket equation, written in 1903, says the propellant you need grows exponentially with the speed you want. That's why a rocket on the pad is mostly propellant, and why the vehicle is the expensive part, not the energy.

How it works

Leave the energy on the ground.

If the power comes from the ground, the vehicle doesn't have to carry its energy source. It carries a light propellant and a way to catch the beam. The heavy equipment stays on the ground, where it can be serviced and used again on the next flight.

Ground station Power beam Vehicle Stations hand the vehicle off as it climbs. Not to scale.

  1. Ground stations make the power

    Stations along the flight path turn electricity into a focused beam aimed at the vehicle.

  2. The vehicle catches the beam

    A receiver on the vehicle absorbs the beam and uses it to heat a lightweight propellant.

  3. Hot propellant makes thrust

    The propellant leaves much faster than it does in a chemical rocket, so the vehicle needs far less of it.

Groundwork

Engineers have worked on beamed launch for over fifty years.

The physics has held up in lab and ground tests. What stopped earlier efforts was cost: building enough ground stations to reach orbit. Our plan is organized around that problem.

1903
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky publishes the rocket equation, which explains why rockets have to be mostly propellant.
1972
Arthur Kantrowitz proposes launching to orbit with lasers on the ground.
2006
Kevin Parkin's research at Caltech develops the microwave thermal rocket.
2015
Escape Dynamics tests a microwave-powered thruster on the ground, then shuts down over cost.
2026
Airy Space starts in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The plan

Climb one stage at a time.

The goal is space for everyone, not just the few. We'll get there in stages. Each one earns revenue and proves something before the next one gets built, and the one-person spacecraft comes last, after a long record of flights.

  1. 0 kmGroundNow
    Stage 1

    Research and ground tests

    Who pays
    NASA, Space Force and Air Force research programs
    It proves
    The beam can deliver the power
  2. ≈100 kmEdge of space
    Stage 2

    Suborbital test flights

    Who pays
    Hypersonic testing and research payloads
    It proves
    The vehicle flies on beamed power
  3. ≈500 kmLow Earth orbit
    Stage 3

    Small satellites to orbit

    Who pays
    Small-satellite companies and the Space Force
    It proves
    Launch on demand pays for itself
  4. ≈500 kmCrewed flights
    Stage 4

    People

    Who pays
    Researchers and private astronauts first
    It proves
    A one-person ride to orbit

Altitude of each stage's flights. Steps not to scale.

Who's building it

A founder who builds the team.

Joshua Norris
Founder
LinkedIn X · @AirySpaceHQ

Joshua trained as a heavy equipment technician at Lincoln Tech and is a full-time dad in Knoxville, Tennessee. He started Airy Space in September 2026 after asking a simple question: why does reaching orbit cost so much when the energy is so cheap?

He wants his generation to reach space and explore it, not just engineers, astronauts and people with a lot of money.

His job is the team, the customers and the funding. Engineers and scientists lead the engineering.

Work with us

Engineers

We're looking for a technical cofounder with experience in microwave power, RF systems or propulsion.

Researchers

We want to work with university and national lab teams on power beaming and thermal propulsion.

Satellite operators

If you launch small satellites, we'd like to hear what launch costs you and what frustrates you about it. No pitch.

Contact

Get in touch.

Engineers, researchers, satellite operators and investors are all welcome. Joshua reads and answers every message.

hello@airyspacehq.com
LinkedIn X · @AirySpaceHQ