The world’s first skyscraper was a 10-storey building. But people weren’t willing to climb multiple flights of stairs, so occupancy rates were lower than average. High-rise developments only gained popularity after the invention of the modern elevator, which happened two decades later.
Simon Gwozdz brings this up to emphasise a point: space travel is possible, but for as long as cargo and human beings are launched aboard “what are fundamentally flying bombs”, the endeavour remains risky and elusive to the broader public.
However, hybrid rocket systems can mitigate this risk, and in 2017, Gwozdz founded rocket propulsion and space launch startup Equatorial Space Systems.
“Anyone who has seen Toy Story will remember that rockets explode. Well, we build rockets that can’t blow up.”
Simon Gwozdz on mitigating risk in space exploration
The company also aims to reduce the risk, cost, and environmental impact of space travel. An absence of explosives or pyrotechnics helps keep manufacturing and transportation costs low while the technology employed does not generate toxic effluents, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 69 percent.
In hybrids, the two propellants are separated into distinct states of matter, thereby eliminating the possibility of a spontaneous reaction between them. This means they won’t be able to create the dramatic explosions rockets are famous for and is why Equatorial Space does not need SCDF and SPF permits to make them. The company has so far raised more than US$4 million (S$5.4 million) and employs 25 staff worldwide.
While space travel is not typically associated with this part of the world, Gwozdz—a Singaporean citizen who has served NS—feels strongly that we should get a shot at space launch. He likens the economic activity this opportunity can generate to how Changi Airport has paved the way towards our status as an aerospace hub, building on our legacy as a logistics hub and leveraging our advantageous, near-equatorial location.
Equatorial Space may have been poised to become Southeast Asia’s answer to SpaceX, but Gwozdz does not want to limit its efforts to the region. “With international expertise and funding, we will soon challenge the hegemony of space launches and allow more passengers to experience the overview effect.”
