Mission PS-14 · vehicle on pad · T-00:42:18

Rides to Sun-sync,twelve times a year.

Polar Stage is a UK-headquartered small-launch operator running monthly rideshare flights from SaxaVord Spaceport to 550 km SSO. Book a 12U or 16U slot through this page; we'll build you into the next mission with spare capacity.

MISSION OPS · PS-14ORBIT · 550km SSO
MISSION · PS-14 · KELPIE
Nine payloads · Sun-synchronous orbit
00
Days
00
Hours
42
Min
18
Sec
VehicleLongbow Mk II
WeatherGO
RP-1 load94%
LOX load96%
GN2 pressurenominal
Range statusGREEN
Wind · upper12.3 m/s
Payload temp18.2 °C
LIVE · 2s pollALL SYSTEMS GO · NOMINAL
01 / Manifest

Six missions, next six months.

Current manifest, updated weekly. Slots marked OPEN are accepting new payloads up to payload-integration review (L-14 weeks).

MissionLead payloadOrbitLaunch windowBooking
PS-14Kelpie
Helix-9A · Earth-obs+ 8 rideshare payloads
550km SSO · 97.5°
14.04.26T-0 @ 11:42 UTC
Manifest closed
PS-15Selkie
Sentinel Labs SAR+ 6 rideshare (3 open)
550km SSO · 97.5°
19.05.26window ±3 days
3 slots left
PS-16Ness
Anchor-constellation+ open rideshare
550km SSO · 97.5°
23.06.26window ±3 days
OPEN
PS-17Lyra
University clusterSTFC · university payloads
520km SSO · 97.4°
28.07.26window ±3 days
OPEN
PS-18Merlin
MoD-sponsored+ 2 commercial open
500km SSO · 97.4°
25.08.26window ±3 days
2 slots
PS-19Raven
TBD · rideshare poolNo anchor booked
550km SSO · 97.5°
29.09.26window ±5 days
TBD · register
02 / Vehicle

Longbow Mk II.

A two-stage, kerolox vehicle designed for monthly reuse-free production cadence. First stage expended at sea; second stage disposed on mission-critical passivation.

  • VehicleLongbow Mk IIBlock 3 · 2025-
  • Height22.4 m / 73.5 ftFuelled
  • Mass at liftoff41,800 kgGLOW
  • Payload to SSO500 kg550 km, 97.5°
  • Payload to LEO720 kg500 km, 51.6°
  • S1 engines4× Aurora-EGas-gen, RP-1/LOX
  • S2 engine1× Aurora-VVacuum, restartable
  • Fairing ID1.5 mCleanroom-packed
  • Insertion accuracy±3 km alt · ±0.02°95% confidence
  • Success rate91.7%11/12 missions
03 / Book a slot

Reserve your ride.

Smallsat rideshare slots from 3U CubeSat through 150 kg ESPA-class. Price starts at £62,000 for a 3U to 550 km SSO, including payload-integration services and insurance to launch.

Timeline

How a booking runs.

From first conversation to payload delivery, the nominal cadence is fifty-two weeks. Fast-tracks to thirty-six weeks possible for flight-heritage payloads.

  1. 1
    Kick-offL-52w · slot held, ICD drafted, £10k deposit
  2. 2
    PDRL-32w · Preliminary Design Review, payload ICD fixed
  3. 3
    CDRL-18w · Critical Design Review, launch contract executed
  4. 4
    Payload integrationL-6w · delivered to our Leicester cleanroom
  5. 5
    LaunchT-0 · live mission console access for customer team
“Our university cluster went up on PS-09 at L-22 weeks from first conversation. Payload handover at the Leicester cleanroom was a half-day; the mission console during flight was the best piece of customer comms we've ever had from a launch provider.”
Dr. Ophelia GriegPrincipal investigator · STFC University ClusterMission PS-09 · Sep 2025