ispace-U.S. Announces New Lunar Lander Engine Solution “VoidRunner” with Agile and Mission 3 Schedule Updated to No Earlier Than 2027

  VoidRunner-hot-fire-photo The Agile Space Industries VoidRunner thruster during a hot-fire test at the test stand in Durango, CO. Denver, CO – ispace technologies U.S., inc. (ispace – U.S.), an American lunar exploration company, announced today, in coordination with The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (Draper), that it will leverage a simplified and higher thrust engine solution for the APEX 1.0 lunar lander with Agile Space Industries (Agile) for its upcoming Mission 3. Following internal analysis, Team Draper identified VoidRunner, a novel engine system jointly developed between Agile and ispace-U.S., as the best solution to minimize technical and schedule risk for ispace’s Mission 3. Pivoting from the originally proposed engine to VoidRunner reduced the number of individual parts required in each engine by a factor of four and enabled simplifications to the vehicle-level architecture.   The changes required engineering accommodation, leading to an update of the Mission 3 launch schedule from 2026 to 2027 for a successful lunar landing. ispace-U.S. is throttling the new VoidRunner engine with its internally developed valve resulting in a highly controllable propulsion subsystem that is expected to greatly enhance confidence in a successful mission. “This solution pivot isn’t just a strategic move — it’s our unwavering commitment to our mission. We listened, learned, and reshaped the solution for our mission’s success. We are confident in the new propulsion system and renewed collaboration with Agile” said Elizabeth Kryst, CEO of ispace-U.S. “Agile is committed to ensuring our technology fully empowers ispace’s Mission 3 to success. We were confident that VoidRunner meets ispace-U.S.’s performance expectations but also drives long-term efficiency,” said Chris Pearson, CEO of Agile Space Industries. ispace-U.S. and Agile together investigated challenges associated with the development timeline for Agile’s A2200 engine, which was planned to be procured by ispace-U.S. for its APEX 1.0 lunar lander. Following ispace-U.S.’s internal review, Agile and ispace-U.S. concluded that the engine would not be supplied within the originally planned procurement schedule. After several on-site exchanges among Draper, ispace-U.S., and the Agile leadership Team, Team Draper decided to pursue the development of a simplified engine solution – VoidRunner. The VoidRunner engine is based on a previously developed engine architecture that has been reconfigured for APEX 1.0 with a modified thrust level and higher efficiency nozzle. The new VoidRunner configuration has already been manufactured and demonstrated on Agile’s vacuum hot-fire test stand to investigate simplified architecture. Additionally, due to the low complexity of the propulsion subsystem, the incorporation of this design change eliminates risk, leading to improved schedule certainty and margin. Within the new schedule, the new VoidRunner’s Critical Design Review (CDR) is now scheduled for Fall 2025, followed by the global CDR in Winter 2025. About ispace-U.S. ispace – U.S. is an American lunar exploration company providing transportation and infrastructure capabilities from Earth to lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon for government and commercial customers. ispace believes that the utilization of lunar resources is the catalyst for enabling human permanence and economic opportunity on and around the Moon and is committed to achieving this goal. The company’s U.S. headquarters serves as the central location for the development of its APEX 1.0 lunar lander, which is being designed, manufactured, and launched in the United States. For more information, follow us on LinkedIn and X: @ispace_us_inc.