Wickman Spacecraft & Propulsion Company

Company Projects

Earth To Orbit

• PSAN-I Ammonium Nitrate & Propellants
• SHARP Spaceplane
• Small Launch Vehicle
• Sounding Rockets
• Liquid Oxygen Monopropellants

Earth - Lunar Corridor

• Lunar Soil Propellant (LSP)
• Lunar Bases & Lunar Concrete

Mars

• Mars Rocket Engines
• Mars Jet Engines

Military - Defense

• Small Launch Vehicle
• Pintle Nozzle With Thrust Vector Control

About Us

• Location
• History
• News
• Snow Day Status

WSPC's Small Launch Vehicle (SLV) Currently Under Development
2,000 lbs Payload To LEO For Under $5 Million

Founded in 1981 by John Wickman, it's initial mission was consulting on various R&D projects.  The company supported Thiokol on the post-Challenger SRB field and nozzle joint redesign and United Technologies Chemical Systems division on the Titan recovery program. In the late 1980s, the founder teamed with Dr. Adolf Oberth to move the company into research and development.  WSPC has pioneered the fields of phase stabilized ammonium nitrate oxidizers, gelled metallized liquid oxygen monopropellants, hydrocarbon liquid oxygen monopropellants, powdered propellants and Martian rocket and jet engines.

In 1990s, the mission of the company was expanded to include manufacturing. This goal led WSPC to explore new areas of propuls ion, launch vehicle construction and lunar base design and construction. Building on its previous work, WSPC has pushed the boundaries of PSAN solid rocket propellant technology beyond the dreams of earlier rocket pioneers. WSPC was the first company to develop the technology for using low cost commercial grade materials in solid rocket motors and launch vehicles.  It has created the ability to mix and cast propellants without vacuum to produce quality ammonium nitrate and ammonium perchlorate propellants.

Now, in the 21st century, WSPC's cutting edge technologies are enabling it to achieve low cost access to Space with an innovative Small Launch Vehicle and sounding rockets.

For manned space exploration of our solar system, new engines will be needed that can burn materials found on the moon, Mars and outer planets. WSPC invented the rocket propulsion technology of mixing metal powders found on the moon into liquid oxygen and making a successful rocket engine using it. This knowledge enabled WSPC to successfully develop a rocket engine that burns carbon dioxide and magnesium powder for use on future Mars missions. WSPC has built and tested a turbojet engine that will eventually be able to operate on Mars for durations of 30 minutes or perhaps longer.