Self-funded maiden flight achieves an apogee altitude of 10 km, marking a milestone in OculloSpace’s space technology development, six months after its first satellite launch, as the company advances towards its 100 km ambition.
SINGAPORE, Oct. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Singapore-based space technology company OculloSpace has successfully completed the maiden flight of AZAD “The Dreamer”, its first experimental sounding rocket, making a significant milestone in the company’s development of launch and space technology capabilities. The rocket achieved an apogee altitude of 10 km during its maiden flight from Etlaq Spaceport, Oman.
The mission, designed Karman X1, was conducted in collaboration with Oman-based aerospace company Stellar Kinetics MCT, with support from international partners across Singapore, Oman and Australia.
The two-stage rocket, measuring 4.3 metres and weighing 26 kg, successfully lifted off from Etlaq on October 1st, 2026, reaching an apogee altitude of 10 km. Both stages completed their burns, with telemetry received throughout the flight. While the upper-stage parachute did not deploy, launch operator Stellar Kinetics reported that the majority of the mission objectives were achieved, providing valuable flight data for future development.
A Singapore-Owned Space Technology Programme
Initiated by Dr Franco Gan, Founder and CEO of OculloSpace, the AZADRocket programme represents approximately two years of development and was self-funded by the company.
OculloSpace owns and leads the AZADRocket programme, retaining ownership of its programme intellectual property. The mission brought together international space industry expertise, with Stellar Kinetics serving as an engineering, manufacturing and launch partner in Oman.
“Six months ago, we sent our first satellite to orbit, and now we have flown our own rocket. I’ve always looked at the sky and wondered whether I could build something that reaches it. The Dreamer represents about two years of work by our team to take an idea from the drawing board to an actual flight,” said Dr Franco Gan.
The mission also involved Orbit2Orbit (Australia), which supplied the 1kg Snowball experimental payload, and WWG Engineering Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), which contributed coated material samples for in-flight evaluation. Etlaq Spaceport provided launch infrastructure and range safety support.
Two Space Milestones in Six Months
The flight follows OculloSpace’s flight satellite mission, DECIMALSAT-1, a PocketQube satellite deployed into orbit through Alba Orbital aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-16 rideshare mission on 30 March 2026.
Within approximately six months, OculloSpace has achieved two important milestones: deploying its first satellite into orbit and completing the maiden flight of its first experimental rocket, achieving an apogee altitude of 10 km.
These achievements strengthen the company’s experience in satellite systems, experimental rocket development, flight operations and international space missions, laying the foundation for future space technology and commercial opportunities.
Next Ambition: Reaching 100 km
Building on the Karman X1 mission, OculloSpace is developing AZAD-2, its next-generation experimental sounding rocket targeting an altitude of 100 km, the Kármán line widely recognised as the boundary of space.
The company plans to apply lessons and flight data from The Dreamer towards AZAD-2, with future opportunities for suborbital research, space technology demonstrations and commercial payload services.
OculloSpace is exploring up to 5 kg of research payload capacity aboard AZAD-2, subject to further engineering validation, testing and regulatory approvals.
“Our next goal is AZAD-2 and a 100 km flight. We are now looking to work with partners who share our ambition to develop more accessible launch and space capabilities from the region, and to take what we have demonstrated with The Dreamer to the next level,” said Dr Franco Gan.
OculloSpace welcomes discussions with strategic investors, space industry partners, research institutions and prospective payload customers interested in participating in its next phase of development.
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SOURCE OculloSpace
