# Water-powered spacecraft bet on a propellant everywhere > Three former SpaceX engineers founded Argo Space to build spacecraft that use water as fuel, harvested from the Moon and beyond. - Title: Water-powered spacecraft bet on a propellant everywhere - Summary: Three former SpaceX engineers founded Argo Space to build spacecraft that use water as fuel, harvested from the Moon and beyond. - Keywords: argo space, robert carlisle, ryan carlisle, kirby carlisle, water propulsion, spacecraft, chiron, argonaut, lunar economy, spacex, in-space transportation, Ars Technica - Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/11/this-space-company-is-betting-its-future-on-a-propellant-available-everywhere - Published: 2026-11-03T16:50:32+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: argo space, robert carlisle, ryan carlisle, kirby carlisle, water propulsion, spacecraft, chiron, argonaut, lunar economy, spacex, in-space transportation, technology ## Three SpaceX veterans start a new company Robert, Ryan, and Kirby Carlisle worked at SpaceX during the Falcon 9 era. In late 2022, they founded Argo Space to build spacecraft infrastructure rather than rockets. ## Water as the key to space transportation Argo Space chose water as its propellant because it is potentially harvestable on the Moon and found throughout the Solar System. Robert Carlisle said, we based the company on water. > We based the company on water. ## Water does multiple jobs in spacecraft Water serves as propellant, coolant, and radiation shield. Using water to cool the spacecraft increases the propellant mass fraction, allowing vehicles to travel farther and accomplish more. ## The vision: harvesting fuel from the Moon Argo plans a transportation network between low-Earth orbit, geostationary orbit, and the Moon.This would enable satellite resupply, refueling, repair, and redeployment.Robert Carlisle said water-based transportation will give commercial incentive to harvest it from the Moon. > In the long run, this water-based transportation will give us a commercial incentive, a profit motive to go harvest it from the Moon's shallower gravity well. ## First test flight had partial success Argo Space flew its first demonstration mission, Navigator, in July on a Falcon 9 rideshare. One of two solar arrays failed to deploy, leaving the spacecraft power-negative and unable to test propulsion. ## Next-generation Chiron spacecraft planned Argo is developing Chiron, a roughly two hundred kilogram spacecraft designed for high performance. The company plans two Chiron missions in twenty twenty-seven for an undisclosed national security customer. ## Falcon 9 availability forces new launch plans Argo's first Chiron mission will fly on an undisclosed new commercial rocket, not SpaceX. The second will use a government-furnished launch vehicle. Robert Carlisle said there are no launches available for sale on Falcon 9. > Right now you've got to get on a wait list, and it's far out. There's not launches available for sale. ## How water becomes rocket fuel in space Chiron can achieve more than two kilometres per second of delta-v. The spacecraft starts with liquid water, then uses solar power to split it into hydrogen and oxygen gases and burns them for thrust. ## Larger Argonaut vehicle in development After Chiron, Argo is building Argonaut, which has a maximum payload capacity of one thousand four hundred kilograms and maximum delta-v of seventeen kilometres per second per tank. ## Lunar relay satellite deal signed In September, Argo Space signed a deal with ispace to deliver ispace's Lunar Connect communication relay satellite to lunar orbit later this decade using Argonaut. ## Small team, big ambitions on tight budget Argo Space has raised twenty million dollars and has fewer than thirty people. Spacecraft are less capital-intensive than rockets. Kirby Carlisle said they do not need a McGregor testing facility like SpaceX does. > I think something that people frequently kind of discount, or just forget about with rockets, is the enormous amount of ground infrastructure that you need. We don't need a McGregor, right? ## Key takeaway Argo Space, founded by three former SpaceX engineers, is developing water-based propulsion systems for spacecraft to enable affordable logistics between Earth orbit, geostationary orbit, and the Moon.