Why EXOS Is the Only Sensible Way to Send Bananas Into Space
A serious look at a very unserious fruit.
A few years back, aerospace Twitter briefly forgot rockets existed and fixated on a single question:
Did SpaceX and Chiquita just launch a banana into space?
(They didn’t. But the memes reached escape velocity.)
And buried inside the cosmic fruit chaos was a real engineering truth:
Launching anything into space - satellites, sensors, test hardware, or produce - is brutally expensive unless you pick the right platform.
So today, we’re answering a question the internet asked in jest but engineers secretly love:
What would it actually cost to send a banana into space with EXOS vs. SpaceX vs. other launch providers?
And more importantly:
Why does EXOS exist as the financially sane middle ground between “weather balloon” and “orbital rocket”?
Let’s peel back the layers.
1. What Does “Sending a Banana Into Space” Actually Mean?
There are really only two ways to do this:
A. Orbital Launch (SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Firefly, etc.)
Your payload goes into orbit and stays there.
You must pay for:
An orbital-class booster
Full FAA licensing
Months of integration
Range approvals
High insurance
Multi-million-dollar launch minimums
This is excellent for spacecraft.
It is terrible for fruit.
B. Suborbital Reusable Launch (EXOS Aerospace)
Your payload flies to space (~100 km altitude), experiences ~150 seconds of microgravity, and returns safely the same day.
BLK3 is FAA-licensed under Part 450 and engineered for rapid reuse. It can fly:
135 kg to 100 km
Up to 200 kg to ~80 km depending on mission profile
This is the “missing middle” in the U.S. launch ecosystem:
Fast. Repeatable. Affordable. Practical.
Perfect for bananas. Perfect for R&D.
2. The Actual Cost of Sending 1 kg of Bananas to Space
For scientific accuracy:
1 kilogram = ~3–4 bananas.
Here’s the breakdown.
Option 1: EXOS Aerospace (Suborbital, Reusable, Reality-Approved)
$10,000–$20,000 rideshare
$250,000–$350,000 full mission
Same-day payload return
~100 km altitude, ~150 seconds microgravity
You also get:
A flight-proven reusable testbed with 1,000+ engine firings in development
A gentle boost profile (peak 3.8 G)
A controlled descent via ballute + guided ram-air parachute
Documented shock/vibration loads for real scientific use
This is the economy-class ticket to space, except someone finally made economy actually good.
Option 2: SpaceX Falcon 9 (Orbital)
$1M+ for minimum rideshare volume
$67M–$90M for a dedicated mission
Their system is optimized for satellites worth $50M–$500M.
Your banana would be the cheapest object on the rocket by eight orders of magnitude.
Option 3: Rocket Lab Electron (Orbital)
$30k–$40k per kg rideshare
$7M+ mission
Superb for precision orbital deployment.
Not ideal for potassium-forward payloads.
Option 4: Firefly Alpha (Orbital)
$20k–$25k per kg rideshare
$15M+ dedicated mission
Cool rocket.
Bad choice for brunch ingredients.
Winner: EXOS by a light-year.
3. If Stanley Black & Decker Wanted to Send a Banana (or Tools) Into Space…
Let’s imagine a company with drills, actuators, battery systems, or robotics that must survive:
Vibration
Thermal extremes
Vacuum
Acoustic loads
150 seconds of microgravity
They don’t need orbit.
They don’t need a years-long campaign.
They don’t need a $10M invoice.
They need fast, repeatable hardware learning cycles - the exact role suborbital is designed for.
Here’s what a typical EXOS campaign looks like:
1. Concept Review (1–2 weeks)
We assess mass, power, data, mounting requirements, and any triggering events needed.
2. FAA Payload Approval (Handled Entirely by EXOS)
Our FAA Part 450 license already covers most payload types.
Customers do not need their own launch license.
3. CST & Physical Integration (2–4 weeks)
At our Greenville, TX HQ, we perform:
Fit checks
EMI compatibility tests
Combined Systems Test (CST) in simulated flight mode
Trigger signal validation
4. Flight Day (~100 km, ~150 seconds microgravity)
BLK3 follows a known profile:
Zero-G from ~T+130 to ~T+280 seconds
Ballute deploy at milli-G
Peak 4.3 G during ballute phase
Main chute deploy at ~520 seconds
~20–25 min total mission time
5. Same-Day Payload Return
We hand the payload back to the customer - tools, sensors, samples, or bananas - the same day.
Total timeline: 30–60 days.
4. The Banana Comparison Everyone Secretly Wants
Let’s put the numbers in plain language:
A SpaceX Banana
Price: $1,000,000
Timeline: Long
Return policy: None
A Rocket Lab Banana
Price: $35,000
Still orbital. Still overkill.
A Firefly Banana
Price: $20,000–$25,000
A good deal… for hardware. Not fruit.
An EXOS Banana
Price:
$10k–$20k rideshare
$250k–$350k full mission
Altitude: ~100 km
Microgravity: ~150 seconds
Return: Yes - you get your banana back.
5. Why EXOS Is the Most Practical Banana Launcher on Earth
EXOS is the only option that makes sense for:
Marketing stunts
Sensor testing
Vibration/thermal validation
Material science
Educational payloads
Rapid prototyping
Early TRL hardware development
“Let’s just see what happens” experiments
Orbital systems are designed for billion-dollar constellations.
EXOS is designed for learning cycles.
Teams choose EXOS because they get:
Faster turnaround
Lower certification burden
Reusable vehicle
FAA-licensed reliability
Controlled environmental exposure
Same-day payload recovery
The ability to iterate 10–20× faster than with orbital-class missions
It’s the difference between buying your own private jet…
and booking a test flight where the airline lets you bolt experiments directly to the fuselage.
Conclusion: If Chiquita Ever Wants To Actually Send Bananas to Space…
There’s only one logical choice:
Suborbital flight
Microgravity
Rapid turnaround
Same-day payload return
FAA-licensed reusable launch system
$10k–$20k rideshare or $250k–$350k full mission
EXOS is the most practical, cost-effective, and delightfully chaotic option for sending bananas, or real hardware, into space.
Chiquita, if you’re reading this:
We’ve got room in the payload bay.
Your move.