Orbital small-sat
Responsive delivery of small satellites to LEO and Sun-synchronous orbits — with the schedule and location flexibility a runway provides.
Reusable tow-launch to orbit
Rise
Above.
Enabling mass manufacturing and research in space.
The mission
A new way to reach space — runway-based, responsive, reusable. Fenix Space delivers small payloads to orbit and enables hypersonic flight testing without a launch pad.
We tow an uncrewed, rocket-carrying glider to altitude behind a business-jet-class aircraft, release it at a favorable angle, and fly the glider home to be used again. No fixed launch site. No range queue. Just an aircraft, a runway, and the sky.
The result is the kind of flexibility space has never had: control over your mission, your schedule, and your launch location — and an architecture built from the start to be flown back, refurbished, and flown again.
The Tow-Launch System
Five steps from runway to orbit.
Licensed from NASA Armstrong's Towed-Glider Air-Launch System (TGALS), our architecture carries vehicles 30% heavier than air-launch and 70% heavier than comparable ground rockets — all from existing runways.
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01
Tow
A business-jet-class aircraft tows the uncrewed glider — carrying the rocket and its payload — up to roughly 40,000 ft.
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02
Separate
At altitude the glider releases the tow-line and separates cleanly, flying autonomously above the weather.
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03
Pull-up
A small rocket motor drives a pull-up maneuver, pitching the stack to a steep, energy-efficient climb angle.
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04
Release
The launch vehicle releases and ignites at a favorable angle and altitude — out of dense air, straight toward space.
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05
Return
The glider turns home and lands on the runway — recovered, inspected and ready to fly the next mission.
+30%
Heavier payloads than air-launch
+70%
Heavier than comparable ground rockets
0
Launch pads required — runway-based
100%
Reusable glider & aviation assets
2028
Commercial operations planned
Milestone · May 2026
Fenix alpha completed four flight tests — demonstrating tow separation and fully autonomous flight.
Our prototype is flying. Each test validates the separation event, autonomous guidance and recovery profile at the core of the operational system.
Markets
Built for the missions that can't wait for a launch pad.
Hypersonic testing
Repeatable, high-altitude release for hypersonic flight test campaigns — accelerating research and development cycles.
Defense
Supporting the Space Development Agency's tracking layer and the Defense Innovation Unit with responsive, distributed access to space.
In our hangar, on our wall
Rise Above.
It's painted where we build. It's how we fly.
Industries
Where Fenix operates.
01
Manufacturing
Unlocking mass manufacturing in microgravity at responsive cadence.
02
Mobility Tech
Aviation-grade reusable transport between the ground and orbit.
03
Robotics & Drones
Autonomous glider guidance, separation and recovery systems.
04
Space Tech
End-to-end access to space for satellites, research and defense.
Backed by
Trusted by the people building the future of space.
Techstars '22
Alaska Capital
$30M Series A
NSF SBIR
National Science Foundation
DoD SBIR
Phase II
About Fenix Space
A small team, flying a big idea.
Founded and led by CEO Jason Lee, Fenix Space is a team of roughly twenty engineers and operators building responsive, runway-based access to space. We operate under a license to NASA Armstrong's Towed-Glider Air-Launch System (TGALS) and partner with the Department of Defense, the Space Development Agency and the Defense Innovation Unit.
Our headquarters are in Los Angeles, CA, with operations in San Bernardino near San Bernardino International Airport — the former Norton AFB — and planned launch sites in Kodiak, Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska.
- Founder & CEOJason Lee
- Team~20 people
- HQLos Angeles, CA
- PartnerNASA Armstrong · TGALS
Fly with us
Ready to rise above?
Talk to our team about orbital small-sat missions, hypersonic test campaigns and defense programs — and commercial operations planned for 2028.