A hobby that refused to stay small
Astar Technologies started as a hobby, where I built model rockets that can land themselves. The goal was not just getting off the ground, it was getting back on the ground in one piece.
Model rockets, Aerospace
Astar Technologies
Model rockets that can land themselves, and the stretch from a hobby toward a real aerospace project.
Towards a startup
Over time, the project grew, and I was taking steps towards turning it into an aerospace startup, offering suborbital launch services to researchers and academia. That is a borderline-impossible goal on purpose, and the kind of goal I tend to set.
On hold
I put the project on hold in early 2026. Since then, I have considered restarting it with a different goal, but nothing concrete has been decided yet. The spiritual successor, for now, is Astar Labs.
Lessons learned
Astar Technologies sat somewhere between hardware and software: airframes, printed parts, and the instincts you need if a rocket is going to make decisions in the air instead of following a script. Building rockets taught me a lot about 3D printing, Embedded devices, and the concept of what it actually takes to land what is effectively a falling brick.