Chrysalis

Project Overview

Chrysalis is a revolutionary new technology that could change the way we design spacecraft forever. By replacing traditional internal structures with a lightweight exoskeleton that can separate with the second stage rocket, a huge reduction in mass is possible. Typically, a mass reduction of just 1% or 2% is recognized as a huge innovation. Some preliminary estimates for Chrysalis speculate that mass could be reduced by 20-25%.

This will ultimately enable new missions to reduce reduce greenhouse gas emissions at launch, cary more or heavier science instruments for the same fuel cost, or allow new missions to travel much further into space than ever before.