Starfighters Space Advances STARLAUNCH 1 Toward Planned December Captive-Carry Flight

STARLAUNCH™ is the Company’s air-launch program, with STARLAUNCH™ 1 serving as its initial suborbital development vehicle. Starfighters has finalized the STARLAUNCH™ 1 airframe design and has ordered the flight hardware from Italian engineering company Robby Moto Engineering S.R.L. ("RME"). The December flight would be conducted between Starfighters’ base at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the FAA-licensed Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, expecting to provide a demonstration of the rocket’s flight characteristics while also allowing the Company to test aircraft integration and establish procedures for future STARLAUNCH™ missions.

With STARLAUNCH™ 1 attached under one wing, the flight may provide an opportunity to fly the Company’s recently-completed Wind Tunnel in the Sky™ hardware under the other wing on a customer-funded rideshare mission, while also serving as a counterweight to improve aerodynamic stability.

After receiving the inert flight hardware in November at the Company’s Kennedy Space Center hangar, the Starfighters team will assemble and test the rocket-aircraft interface ahead of the flight test. The STARLAUNCH™ 1 and Wind Tunnel in the Sky™ hardware share some common components and interchangeable systems, allowing standard practices for integration with the aircraft.

Data and experience from the December flight will also support work by Starfighters’ propulsion partner, Vaya Defense & Space, in their development of a hybrid rocket motor aligned with the STARLAUNCH™ 1 flight-hardware specifications.