Safety and the Roton development program

The space transportation industry is undergoing tremendous change. Driven by strong market forces and a regulatory shift towards commercialization, entrepreneurial companies plan to introduce the first reusable launch vehicles. In the absence of aviation-style certification procedures, industry participants are working with the FAA to establish a new licensing regime that will foster this nascent industry while safeguarding the public. As one of the major entrepreneurial startups, Rotary Rocket Company is addressing safety by selecting risk mitigation as the development team´s primary success criterion and by designing the company´s Roton space vehicle like an aircraft. The company´s fully reusable, piloted vehicle will undergo a staged development and flight-test program to reduce operational risk. Flight data and the company´s accumulated design experience will be used to evolve into a formal certification process as the industry matures