Stellar Alpina unveils Monarch orbital tug and Morpho lunar lander
Stellar Alpina
The Swiss startup, pivoting from rocket-engine tests, unveiled a high-delta-V orbital tug and a lunar lander on the same design.
what happened
Stellar Alpina, a Swiss startup that began building rotating detonation rocket engines, unveiled two vehicles built on that propulsion work: Monarch, an orbital tug rated for up to 6,000 m/s of delta-V with 1,000 kg of wet mass and 200 kg of payload capacity, and Morpho, a lunar lander derived from Monarch's architecture that can deliver up to 50 kg to the Moon, per Payload. Monarch runs on hydrogen peroxide and propane propellants, is designed to be launcher-agnostic, and targets an in-orbit demonstration in 2029; the company says it has completed more than 150 engine tests to date. Stellar Alpina's own site confirms both vehicle names.
why it matters
A reusable, launcher-agnostic orbital tug priced by delta-V used would compete with Impulse Space, Starfish Space and other last-mile logistics providers chasing the same high-energy transfer market, while Morpho positions Stellar Alpina for small, flexible lunar deliveries if Monarch proves out first. No rotating detonation rocket engine has flown yet for Stellar Alpina or rival Astrobotic, and the company discloses no funding or customer commitments, so this is an early technical reveal rather than a contracted business.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Stellar Alpina
- Category
- product
- Impact
- noise
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-11-02
- Published
- 2026-11-02 16:50 UTC