OrbitX
Orbital Exploration Technologies, Inc., also known as Orbital Exploration or OrbitX, is a Philippine aerospace and space transportation company.
History
OrbitX was established on June 2, 2019 as OrbX, a private venture by a group of youth including Dexter Baño Jr., Enzo Victor, and Paulo Sairel. OrbitX's short term goal is to develop the first indigenous reusable rocket, and the long-term goal is to send the first Filipino to Mars and back. OrbitX is known as the Philippines' first commercial spaceflight company.Its first flagship project is the Haribon SLS-1 launch vehicle. OrbitX started a crowdfunding campaign which received support from Southeast Asian firm and Genix Ventures and other private individuals. It also received a two-year funding of $6,500 for research purposes from the Amazon Web Services.
Projects
Haribon SLS-1
OrbitX is developing its own space launch vehicle which it dubs as the Haribon SLS-1. It is to be propelled using components also to be developed by OrbitX: Tamaraw Rocket Engine and RP-2 fuel, a plastic-derived fuel. RP-2 gets its named from RP-1, the refined kerosene that is typically used in rockets. As of January 2021, the project is in the Technology Readiness Level 4 phase of development with its components still being validated in a laboratory environment. It is projected to carry a payload of into low Earth orbit. The company plans to have the maiden launch of the Haribon SLS-1 sometime between 2023 and 2024.Fuels
Among OrbitX's research is the potential use of algae as biofuel for both small and large-scale space launch vehicles. The company has noted that algae-derived biofuel has already had prior used on aircraft; particularly in a Houston–Chicago Boeing 737 flight. It is also developing, OrbitX RP-2, its own proprietary fuel derived from pyrolysis-processed waste plastic.Orbital Coin (ORBX)
On February 10, 2021, OrbitX teased about their in-house cryptocurrency. On February 12, 2021, OrbitX announced the cryptocurrency named Orbital Coin or ORBX, as they'll also fund the rocket using their in-house cryptocurrency.On July 5, 2021, OrbitX announced their initial coin offering, as scheduled on July 20. ORBX was developed by ProofSys.io and OrbitX.