(Tribune News Service) — Launch more. Wait less.

That's the motto for Innovative Rocket Technologies, also known as iRocket, a New York aerospace startup that is coming to Kern County, Calif., to test its rocket engines and propulsion hardware at Edwards Air Force Base, one of only four locations in the country that can test up to 10 million pounds of thrust.

According to iRocket founder and CEO Asad Malik, the agreement between iRocket and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards is expected to create hundreds of new high-paying engineering jobs at the test and research facility, bringing multiplier effects to the regional economy in Kern and Los Angeles counties.

"We have several Air Force contracts that we've won and we're performing work on," he said, adding that this is "a five-year plan," and the economic benefits won't come at once, but will grow over time.

The company announced Wednesday that it has signed the agreement with the AFRL to jointly develop and test rocket propulsion engines and components.

Founded in 2018, iRocket says it is developing something revolutionary, a 100% reusable rocket that will provide reliable and rapid access to space at a low cost.

"It's a huge game-changer," Malik said, one that could make autonomous commercial space flight as reliable and routine as commercial aviation.

The agreement essentially merges iRocket's commercial goals with AFRL's efforts to further the capabilities of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.

Shawn Phillips, chief of the Rocket Propulsion Division at the AFRL, said collaborating with iRocket through a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement provides iRocket with several benefits, including the use of a key facility, equipment, and AFRL expertise to enable both sides to develop, build, test and transition U.S. rocket engines at a fast pace.

"iRocket will have the opportunity to further advance and demonstrate their high-thrust technology," he said. "AFRL is very supportive of development efforts for rapid access to space to support Air Force and Space Force needs for 100% reusable rockets."

Indeed, the iRocket launch vehicle, named Shockwave, is expected to serve both government and commercial demand.

The iRocket engine runs on a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid methane fuel, a fuel mix clean enough to enable it to be relaunched within 24 hours, iRocket said in a news release.

These and other characteristics will dramatically lower the cost to operate, and increase the vehicle's availability for frequent access to space, Malik said.

"What we're building," he said, "makes today's launch vehicles look like the Model T."

Blake Larson, former president of Northrop Grumman Space Systems and a member of the iRocket board of directors, told Satnews the collaborative agreement with AFRL is an important endorsement of the progress iRocket is making.

"The Edwards Air Force Base test facility," Larson said, "enables iRocket to demonstrate and advance its capability to serve both national security and commercial space missions."

Essentially hitting two targets with one rocket.

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