iRocket
Corporate brand
UnclaimediRocket is a New York-based aerospace startup developing reusable rocket engines and the Shockwave launch vehicle.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
iRocket, formally identified as Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc, is a United States aerospace startup founded in 2018 and based in New York. The company develops rocket propulsion systems and a small reusable launch vehicle called Shockwave. Its stated technology direction centers on reusable hardware, additive manufacturing, and methane-oxygen propulsion, or methalox. The company’s work places it within the emerging commercial space-launch sector, where reusable launch systems are intended to reduce the cost and turnaround time associated with placing payloads into orbit. The company has pursued government-supported research and development relationships as part of its propulsion program. In 2021, iRocket entered into a Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to accelerate development of its reusable rocket engine. The arrangement connected the startup’s engine work with NASA technical capabilities and represented an early public-sector collaboration in the company’s development history. In 2023, iRocket received a $1.8 million AFWERX Tactical Funding Increase, or TACFI, contract from the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. The contract supports development of the company’s rocket-engine technology. Also in 2023, iRocket signed a four-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the United States Air Force to test its engine technology at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s High Thrust Research Facility. These agreements indicate that the company’s propulsion work has both commercial-launch and national-security relevance, although the available reference material does not establish operational deployment or a completed orbital launch. The company’s planned Shockwave vehicle is described as a fully reusable rocket. It is designed to be approximately 125 feet tall and 9 feet in diameter, with a target payload capacity of 1,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The design calls for all stages to be reusable. The first launch was planned for 2027 according to the available reference material; this is a development target rather than evidence that the launch has occurred. The vehicle is intended to use iRocket’s reusable methalox engine, which the company plans to manufacture using three-dimensional printing. The engine is described as 100 percent reusable. Publicly available information portrays iRocket primarily as a technology-development company rather than an established launch-service operator. Its brand positioning is built around reusable propulsion, rapid development, and a launch architecture intended to serve low Earth orbit. The company’s public profile is closely tied to its NASA, Space Force, Air Force, and Air Force Research Laboratory relationships. Information about commercial customers, completed test flights, revenue, additional executives, production facilities, and current launch status is not established by the supplied sources.
History
Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc, known as iRocket, was founded in 2018 as a New York-based aerospace startup. The company’s development program has focused on rocket propulsion and reusable launch systems. Rather than beginning with a mature operational launch service, iRocket has built its public identity around the development of a reusable methalox engine and a planned small reusable orbital vehicle. A significant early development in the company’s history came in 2021, when iRocket signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The agreement was intended to accelerate development of the company’s reusable rocket engine. This relationship provided a formal framework for cooperation with a NASA center and placed iRocket’s propulsion work within the broader U.S. government ecosystem supporting advanced launch technologies. The propulsion system described in the available material uses liquid methane and liquid oxygen. The engine is intended to be fully reusable and manufactured through three-dimensional printing. Additive manufacturing is central to the company’s stated approach because it can support the production of complex engine components and may simplify certain development and manufacturing processes. The supplied sources do not provide detailed test results, engine thrust figures, production volumes, or a confirmed operational flight record. In 2023, iRocket secured a $1.8 million AFWERX TACFI contract from the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. The award supported further development of the company’s rocket-engine technology and indicated interest from the U.S. national-security space sector. During the same year, the company entered into a four-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Air Force. Under that agreement, iRocket’s engine technology was to be tested at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s High Thrust Research Facility. Together, these arrangements expanded the company’s research and testing links beyond NASA and into defense-oriented aerospace institutions. The company’s principal planned vehicle is Shockwave. It is described as a fully reusable rocket approximately 125 feet high and 9 feet in diameter. The vehicle is designed to carry 1,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit, with all stages intended for recovery and reuse. Its architecture is therefore aimed at combining orbital payload capability with the cost and operational advantages associated with reusable launch hardware. The first launch was planned for 2027 in the cited reference material. Because the available information describes a plan rather than a completed mission, the launch date should be treated as a target subject to change. By the latest information in the supplied reference, iRocket remains a development-stage aerospace company. Its public activities are concentrated on engine development, government partnerships, and preparation of the Shockwave vehicle. The references do not establish the company’s commercial customer base, launch cadence, revenue, corporate ownership, executive team, or whether Shockwave has reached flight testing or orbital operations. Its documented history is consequently best understood as the early development phase of a reusable-launch venture.
- 2023
AFWERX TACFI engine-development contract
[1]The company received a $1.8 million AFWERX TACFI contract from the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command for rocket-engine development.
- 2023
Air Force CRADA
[1]iRocket signed a four-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Air Force for engine testing at the Air Force Research Laboratory High Thrust Research Facility.
- 2021
NASA Space Act Agreement
[1]iRocket signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to accelerate development of its reusable rocket engine.
- 2018
Company founded
[1]Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc, operating under the iRocket name, was founded as a New York-based aerospace startup.
Planned first Shockwave launch
[1]The first launch of the planned Shockwave reusable rocket was targeted for 2027 in the cited reference material.
Products and positioning
An emerging U.S. space-launch technology company focused on reusable methane-oxygen propulsion and a fully reusable small launch vehicle for low Earth orbit.
Reusable orbital launch vehicle
Shockwave
Shockwave is iRocket’s planned fully reusable launch vehicle. The design is approximately 125 feet tall and 9 feet in diameter, with a stated capacity of 1,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit. All stages are intended to be reusable. The vehicle is under development and was associated with a planned first launch in 2027; the supplied material does not confirm that the launch has taken place.
Rocket propulsion
Reusable methalox engine
iRocket is developing a methane-and-liquid-oxygen engine for reusable launch applications. The engine is intended to be 100 percent reusable and manufactured using three-dimensional printing. Its development has been supported by cooperation with NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and the U.S. Air Force. Publicly supplied information does not specify final thrust, flight qualification, or production status.
Brand decisions
2023
Expansion of defense-sector propulsion developmentStrategyBackground
iRocket’s reusable engine program had potential applications in commercial launch and national-security space systems.
Action taken
The company accepted an AFWERX TACFI contract from Space Systems Command and entered a four-year Air Force CRADA for testing at the AFRL High Thrust Research Facility.
Aftermath
The agreements broadened iRocket’s government research and testing relationships. The available source does not establish operational deployment or a completed orbital mission.
AFWERX TACFI contract value. $1.8 million (2023)
2023
Development of the Shockwave reusable launch vehicleProduct launchBackground
iRocket planned a small reusable orbital launcher using its reusable methalox propulsion technology.
Action taken
The company advanced the Shockwave program, specifying a fully reusable vehicle designed to carry 1,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit.
Aftermath
A first launch was planned for 2027, but the supplied material does not confirm a launch or commercial service entry.
2021
Pursuit of NASA collaboration for reusable-engine developmentStrategyBackground
iRocket was developing a reusable rocket engine and sought institutional cooperation to advance the technology.
Action taken
The company signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Aftermath
The agreement established a formal NASA cooperation framework for accelerating engine development; the supplied material does not report a completed flight qualification.
Recent events
Sources2 sources
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