# Delos Aerospace: Strategic, Technical, and Acquisition Feasibility Brief

## 1. The Mandate and Immediate Viability

The Department of Defense’s Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mandate (codified in the VICTUS mission series) requires 24-hour orbital launch capabilities. Current solutions rely on static launch pads (Vandenberg, Cape Canaveral) that are geostrategically vulnerable, bottlenecked by launch cadence, and constrained by weather.

Delos Aerospace provides a sovereign, untargetable launch capability via an Expeditionary Stratospheric Architecture. By utilizing a High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) airship, Delos lifts a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) rocket 15 miles into the stratosphere prior to ignition. This eliminates 95% of aerodynamic drag, creates a 15–30% payload multiplier, bypasses tropospheric weather, and removes reliance on fixed ground infrastructure.

## 2. Engineering & Operational Defenses

Evaluators commonly cite three reasons stratospheric launch concepts fail. The Delos architecture engineers specifically around these historical failure modes.

### 2.1 The "Snapback" & Thermal Plume Problem

**Risk:** Dropping a multi-ton rocket from a buoyant vessel traditionally causes the vehicle to accelerate upward, risking structural tearing or dropping the rocket directly into its own exhaust plume.

**Delos solution:**
- Use a horizontal, thermally isolated kinematic release bus called the "Sky-Dock." 
- Weaponize the snapback rather than fight it.
- Execute horizontal release so the buoyant ascent creates vertical and thermal clearance from the envelope.
- Add a secondary cold-gas thruster system on the rocket for stabilization and pitch control before ignition.

### 2.2 The Maritime/Wind Shear Vulnerability

**Risk:** Inflating a massive HALE airship on a barge in open ocean swells typically turns the envelope into an uncontrollable sail.

**Delos solution:**
- Perform integration inside a rigid, retractable clamshell integration bay.
- Use Dynamic Positioning (DP) tugs to create a zero-crosswind environment.
- Expose the system to ambient winds only after it is fully pressurized and structurally rigid.

### 2.3 The FAA Downrange Safety Bottleneck

**Risk:** The FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) will not license launches that drop spent rocket stages over populated areas.

**Delos solution:**
- Operate from a maritime barge to tow the system into designated, pre-cleared oceanic launch boxes.
- Combine this with Autonomous Flight Safety Systems (AFSS) integrated into the COTS rocket.
- Reduce population risk to zero and streamline AST licensing.

## 3. The Non-Dilutive Capitalization Pathway

Delos avoids the hardware Valley of Death through a phased, non-dilutive funding strategy that shifts the burden of rocket manufacturing to established partners.

- **Phase I: State Seed**
  - Use state-level bridge grants (e.g., NC IDEA) to formalize Sky-Dock CAD modeling, kinematic math, and Provisional Patent Applications.
- **Phase II: Federal SBIR/STTR**
  - Target SpaceWERX (TacRS Challenge) for Phase I and Phase II feasibility and prototyping grants.
- **Phase III: Strategic Teaming**
  - Do not build the rocket or the envelope; build the integration IP (the Sky-Dock).
  - Execute MOUs with established COTS rocket providers (e.g., Firefly, ABL) and HALE manufacturers.
  - Leverage partner-supplied hardware at cost.

## 4. Intellectual Property & Data Rights Assertion

Delos Aerospace enforces a DFARS-compliant data rights strategy. Because the foundational architecture of the Sky-Dock and the operational kinematics are developed exclusively at private/state expense prior to federal engagement, Delos will assert Limited Rights (Technical Data) and Restricted Rights (Computer Software).

Under the federal SBIR pathway, subsequent hardware iterations will fall under statutory SBIR Data Rights, granting Delos a legally mandated 20-year protection period against the government sharing our technical data with competitors.

### 4.1 Why the DoD Will Award the Contract

**Misconception:** The DoD refuses to award contracts if it cannot secure Unlimited Rights.

**Reality:**
- Space Systems Command (SSC) is pivoting to commercial "Launch as a Service" (CASaaS). They do not want to own the Sky-Dock; they want payload delivery.
- Delos retains IP, bears sustainment costs, and the government pays for mission success.
- SBIR statutes prohibit penalizing a company for asserting SBIR Data Rights.
- SpaceWERX exists to ingest commercial IP under these protective terms.
- DIU Commercial Solutions Openings (CSO) use OT authorities to attract commercial tech companies that keep their IP.

By aggressively protecting its IP, Delos aligns with the DoD mandate to foster a commercially sustained defense industrial base.