New Frontier Aerospace (NFA) on Monday said it has completed a series of successful hot fire tests of its additively manufactured Mjolnir liquid rocket engine the startup is developing for reusable rockets, hypersonic vehicles, and orbital transfer spacecraft.
The liquid natural gas engine will power NFA’s Pathfinder hypersonic vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft system that is slated for its first hovering flight-test in early 2026, the Kent, Wash.-based company said. Mjolnir will also be used to power the company’s Bifrost orbital transfer spacecraft that is set to launch by 2027, it said.
NFA also said the rocket engine is currently available to customers for their missions.
The Defense Innovation Unit’s National Security Innovation Capital provided seed funding for the development of Mjolnir and NASA funded the engine testing.
“Mjolnir’s compact design, unmatched efficiency, and clean fuel make it a game-changer for hypersonic flight and space propulsion,” Bill Bruner, NFA’s CEO, said in a statement.