Galați, Romania · Space & Defense · Dual-use

ESA-validated rocket propulsion,
engineered in Romania.

ATD Aerospace RS designs, builds and test-fires liquid rocket engines — with technology publicly featured by the European Space Agency under the Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP).

About us

Research, design and development in aerospace

ATD Aerospace RS is a company specialized in research, design and development across avionics, propulsion and aerospace systems. Our work spans both ESA-funded programmes and projects developed from our own resources, with a focus on applicable, rigorous and testable solutions.

Key competencies

  • Liquid and solid propulsion
  • High-altitude and foldable UAVs
  • GNC, autopilot and telemetry
  • Numerical modeling and engineering software
  • Test-stand firing and experimental validation

Our approach

From concept and design through to integration, testing and experimental demonstration — solutions built to be verified, not just proposed.

Every engine, vehicle and subsystem is carried in-house, from the first numerical model to live firing, so performance is proven against real test data at each step rather than on paper alone.

Design, simulation, manufacturing and test under one roof let us de-risk new technology quickly and move from idea to working demonstrator with confidence.

4 Liquid rocket engine classes designed, built & tested with ESA
TRL 5–7 Technology demonstrated under ESA supervision
100+ Combined years in propulsion & defense
ESA·Carfil S.A. (ROMARM)·INCAS

ESA Recognition

Recognized by the European Space Agency

Our water-cooled, throttleable 10 kN liquid rocket engine was publicly featured by ESA under the Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP), demonstrating 100%→60% throttling. ATD is an active ESA partner across the FLPP and GSTP programmes.

Source: esa.int / ESA Multimedia · ESA Entity Code 1000031082

ATD liquid rocket engine static firing, featured by ESA
ATD water-cooled throttleable engine firing featured on the ESA website
Featured on ESA Multimedia under the Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) — view on esa.int ↗

Track Record

Four liquid rocket engines, designed and tested with ESA

Every one of these engines was designed and built by our team, then carried from concept to live firing.

25 N

Micro-class

Low-thrust liquid engine — precise, restartable class that proved the ATD approach.

1.5 kN

De-risk engine

ESA-GSTP activity. Pressure-fed hypergolic LRE with regenerative cooling.

6.5 kN

ESA development

ESA contract; six engines built. TRL 6–7 under qualification testing.

10 kN

Throttleable

Restartable, water-cooled; demonstrated 100%→60% throttling. ESA FLPP.

Test campaigns conducted with our partners INCAS (Măneciu Experimental Base) and Electromecanica SA (Ploiești).

Test & Flight Heritage

Proven in test and flight

Real hardware, real test fires, real launches — not simulations alone.

ATD sounding rocket on the launch rail
Live launch test
Launch sequence — flight test footage
Recovered ATD flight hardware
Recovered flight hardware
ATD's four liquid rocket engine classes
The four liquid rocket engine classes, built in-house
ATD static fire in instrumented test cell
Static fire — instrumented test cell
ATD throttleable engine static fire, ESA FLPP
Throttleable engine static fire — ESA FLPP

Capabilities

What we build

Propulsion

Solid, hybrid and liquid rocket engines — hypergolic storable and next-gen LOX/methane — tested in-house.

GNC & Autopilots

Proprietary guidance, navigation and control plus autopilots, backed by in-house 6-DOF guidance and CFD.

Defense systems

Rocket-assisted munitions, guided UAVs and precision mortar rounds, designed and tested for the field.

Telemetry & Telecommand

Reliable data and command links for high-speed, high-altitude missions.

Solid Propulsion & Munitions

Solid motors and extended-range munitions

In-house solid rocket motors and guided/unguided munitions, developed and test-fired by our team.

122 mm

Solid rocket motor

Thrust 23,000 N · burn time 1.7 s · dual-base propellant.

120 mm

Solid rocket motor

Thrust 8,000 N · burn time 7 s · composite propellant.

73 mm

Extended-range projectile

Spin-stabilized projectile with extended operational range.

4–8 km

70 mm class range

Stand and range firings; range depends on configuration.

Plus a solid booster within the ESA portfolio.

High-Altitude UAV

Flying-wing UAVs for the edge of space

Composite flying-wing UAVs developed in support of European Space Agency demonstrators, reaching near-space altitudes with long-endurance glide range.

35 kmMaximum operational altitude
600–800 kmRange from operational altitude
ATD high-altitude flying-wing UAV above the clouds

Engineering & Simulation

Our own simulation toolchain

Every engine and vehicle is de-risked with in-house numerical modelling: 3-DOF and 6-DOF trajectory simulation, Monte-Carlo dispersion, internal-ballistic models for solid, hybrid and liquid motors, CFD and thermochemical analysis — even aerobraking and aerocapture studies for Earth and Mars.

Proprietary GNC and autopilot heritage developed since 2006.

ATD CFD / thermal simulation of a rocket nozzle

Trusted partners

ESA

Active partner across the FLPP and GSTP programmes.

ROSA

Romanian Space Agency — national space programme coordinator.

INCAS

National Institute for Aerospace Research — 220 researchers, ESRE member.

Carfil S.A., Brașov

ROMARM group, NATO-certified, est. 1922 — joint solid-booster heritage.

Electromecanica SA, Ploiești

ROMARM group — test and engineering support partner.

Team

The people behind ATD

Over 100 combined years in propulsion and defense.

RS

Robert Simion

CEO & Founder

Founder; ESA contract signatory; leads strategy and partnerships.

MB

Marius Bacuta

Co-CEO
BS

Av. Bogdan Silitra

Legal Counsel
VE

Vasile Enache

Head of R&D

35+ years in rocket propulsion; lead on ESA engine programs.

AS

Alin Simion

Technical Manager

Lead engine designer; CFD, stress/thermal (NASTRAN, Fluent).

AB

Adrian Bacuta

Marketing Advisor

Talk to us

Partnerships, procurement or press — we respond quickly.