Ukrainian startup Promin Aerospace is preparing for flight tests of the rocket in 2023
Promin Aerospace, a small launch vehicle startup, was founded in 2021. Promin continues to plan to conduct the first test of its own small satellite launch technology early next year, despite the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war.
‘Over the past 10 months, we have done a lot of research, development and production, and in August, we hired two engineers,’ – Mykhailo Rudominskyi, CEO and co-founder of Promin Aerospace.
Promin Aerospace’s research and development laboratory is located in Dnipro, a city often under Russian missile fire. To protect employees, the company does not publish information about the location of its own laboratory. Promin counters power outages by feeding production from two independent lines.
‘We cannot move from Dnipro because that is where we hire workers. There are many specialists here,’ said Rudominskyi.
The city of Dnipro is known for its experience in the aerospace industry – the state aerospace company ‘Pivdenmash’ and the design bureau of space technology ‘Pivden’ are based here.
Although work continues, the war has forced Promin Promin Aerospace to reconsider some expansion plans. On February 22, two days before the Russian invasion, Rudominsky sent the first batch of emails asking for investment. When the war broke out, Promin executives realized that their investment plans would have to be put on hold and focus more on the safety of employees, their families and loved ones, as well as supporting Ukraine’s defense and humanitarian aid. In early April, most of the company’s employees returned to full-time work.
‘Psychologically, the worst thing for a person in wartime is to just sit and do nothing because you are worried about the war,’ says Rudominskyi.
In lieu of the planned 2022 headcount expansion, Promin has redoubled its design efforts with funding from previous rounds and $100,000 in funding from Google in August.
At the beginning of next year, Promin Aerospace plans to conduct the first test launch of a small rocket in Ukraine. It is planned to rise to a height of 100 m. If the company does not receive permission to launch in Ukraine, most likely it will happen in Scotland at the end of summer. An agreement has been reached to launch from a Scottish spaceport.
