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Propulsion and Energy

Several hybrid rocket technologies hit advanced test stages

By Orie Cecil, Joseph Majdalani|December 2016

The Hybrid Rockets Technical Committee studies techniques applied to the design and testing of rocket motors using hybrid rocket systems.

The year witnessed the maturation of several hybrid rocket technologies into their advanced test stages in both industry and academia. It started loudly with the launch of the Taiwanese APPL-9C on Jan. 31 near Hsinchu City, Taiwan. The Advanced Rocket Research Center based in National Chiao Tung University developed this two-stage system, which featured a first-stage sugar rocket with a hybrid second stage that made use of nitrous oxide in a 3-D printed shell. The launch of the 27-kilogram-loaded, 2.7-meter-long rocket with a 15-centimeter diameter has paved the way for future tests of the larger HTTP-3 hybrid vehicle.

The NASA-funded Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California is developing a space-storable hybrid motor for a Mars Ascent Vehicle, or MAV, as part of the proposed Mars Sample Return mission. A comprehensive JPL-led trade study found a storable, single-stage-to-orbit, hybrid propulsion system to be the lowest mass option for a MAV.

At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama this year, a new, wax-based fuel developed by the Space Propulsion Group of California survived more than 200 Mars-like thermal cycles, emulating mission-like thermal profiles over a range of 50 to minus 115 Celsius (122 to minus 175 Fahrenheit). JPL is also funding hotfire testing of this fuel with nitrogen tetroxide. That testing is underway at SPG and California-based Parabilis Space Technologies. In the interim, researchers at Purdue and Penn State universities are investigating new solid additives to the fuel for hypergolic ignition to enable multiple starts of the hybrid motor as part of this program. JPL is in the planning stage for an Earth-based launch of a hybrid MAV, scheduled for 2019. Along similar lines, JPL is testing high-density polyethylene and polymethyl methacrylate with gaseous oxygen for cubesat applications. The goal of this three-year program is to demonstrate long-duration burns and multiple, autonomous ignitions to enable interplanetary cubesat mission concepts. Tests of up to 50 seconds were completed in 2016. Utah State University received a $200,000 NASA grant to develop and test small rocket motors that could be used in lieu of hydrazine thrusters in small satellite applications. The motors are made of printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastics with a meshwork of finely spaced voids. A voltage through the electrodes causes electrical charges to accumulate in the voids to the extent of building an arc in the core. Oxygen is then introduced to initiate burning. Testing is expected to begin in mid-2018 as the thruster payload is delivered to an altitude of 100 kilometers on board a NASA sounding rocket.

In May, Nammo AS, a company based in Raufoss, Norway, hotfired its Flight-Weight Unitary Motor intended for the Nucleus sounding rocket. Using hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, the test included two burns spaced by two hours and 35 minutes to demonstrate the engine’s restart capabilities. Both burns produced stable combustion and 30 kilonewtons of thrust. This 800-kg, 9-m-long flight vehicle is the first member of the Norwegian North Star sounding rocket family. Nucleus will be launched in the first half of 2017 with a target altitude of 100 km and a payload of 70 kg.

In July, Gilmour Space Technologies, based in Singapore and Australia, launched its first test rocket as a first step toward its stated goal of reducing the cost of orbital and suborbital launches. The Rasta rocket, powered by nitrous oxide and dual 3-D printed fuel, achieved an altitude of 5 km.

Announced Aug. 1, the FAA granted Virgin Galactic an operator license to test SpaceShipTwo, a suborbital spaceplane, for two years over the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The license allows the transport of scientific and experimental payloads but prohibits “spaceflight participants” until the reliabilities of SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo, its carrier vehicle, have been carefully verified. ★

2016 Year in Review

Aerospace Design and Structures

A spacecraft is docked at a space station module in the darkness of space. The craft has a white exterior with visible connection points and a NASA logo on it.

Working on future missions with systems built over decades

A spacecraft featuring large solar panels and a cargo bay or docking mechanism orbits above the Earth, with the planet's surface and cloud formations visible below.

Designing the world’s largest wind turbine

Aerial vehicle model mounted for testing in a wind tunnel at Politecnico di Milano facility, with visible branding and measurement markings on the floor.

Groundbreaking structural dynamics and aeroelastic tests

Aerospace Outreach

A space station with solar panels orbits above Earth's atmosphere, with the vast blue planet and clouds visible in the background.

Celebrating 50 years since the launch of Skylab and other anniversaries

Two astronauts in white space suits seated inside a spacecraft, facing the camera.

A year of turmoil and success in aerospace

Airbus a330 in a hangar with flynas livery, undergoing maintenance with visible engine covers and detached wing components.

Programs encourage carbon-emission reductions

Aerospace Sciences

A model airplane is positioned inside a wind tunnel for testing, with blue lighting highlighting the setup.

Facility improvements, return to service and novel testing techniques showcase critical ground testing

3D model showing airflow analysis around a cone-shaped object. Labels indicate the flow direction and a region marked as LES.

Utilizing fluid mechanics and data sciences to enable high-speed aeropropulsion

Atmospheric picture of space

Innovative imaging methods bring new diagnostic capabilities

Aircraft Technology, Integration and Operations

NASA’s X-57 Maxwell

Trainer makers compete; many aircraft take first flights

A Gulfstream G800 aircraft taking off from a runway, with its landing gear extended and several buildings visible in the background.

Post-pandemic comeback and breakthroughs for electric flight

Solar Impulse 2

The changing face of flight testing

Engineering and Technology Management

Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo

Accelerating change on systems engineering tenets

Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine for ULA’s Vulcan

Profits dip in aerospace, defense sectors

Solar Impulse 2

A year that caught public’s notice

Information Systems

A person walks past several flight simulators in a large, industrial-style training facility, next to a sign that reads

New focus on safety in software

Engineers in cleanroom suits work on a NASA Mars helicopter, conducting detailed inspections and adjustments.

Transformations in computer architecture enable advances in exploration autonomy

Two airport ground staff in high-visibility vests walk beside a parked airplane at an airport. Other ground support equipment and vehicles are in the background.

Space and aviation sectors invest in community awareness, training and education to ward off increasing cyberattacks

Integration

A rocket engine is ignited, expelling colorful exhaust flames and smoke. The engine is partially enclosed in a structure with platforms and scaffolding visible in the background.

Pieces are coming together for CFD Vision 2030

Visualization of airflow simulation over an aircraft wing, showing turbulent flow patterns in shades of purple and pink, with a color scale indicating high to low velocity regions.

Continued progress toward the CFD Vision 2030 goals

A gray top hat floats in space, emitting a stream of white smoke-like substance over a red, rocky planet surface.

Progress toward the 2030 vision of CFD

Program Committees

rotating detonating engine

New and existing systems show progress

NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed in Sandusky, Ohio

Electric efforts gaining power

A large cylindrical object is positioned in the center of an industrial facility with yellow overhead cranes and metallic structures.

Space Launch System keeps pace

Propulsion and Energy

Industrial testing of a high-energy beam, emitting a bright orange light, showcased in an outdoor setup with various scientific equipment.

Advances made toward rotating detonation engines

Technicians, in protective clothing, are assembling or inspecting a large metallic cylindrical device in a cleanroom setting.

Lightweight fission reactor passes test; work on innovative engine combustor

An overhead view of a rocket launching from a pad, showing flames and smoke as it propels upwards.

Booster, tactical flight tests abound while variety of science missions are launched

Space and Missiles

A spacecraft orbits above Earth, with the planet's blue surface and white clouds visible below. An open hatch is noted on the spacecraft's exterior.

Another record-setting year for spaceflight

An astronaut smiles and holds a cable inside the International Space Station, surrounded by various equipment and machinery. A computer screen and a black device are visible in the background.

Robots assisting astronauts, servicing ISS and assembling

A 3D printer in the process of printing an object in a metallic chamber. The partially completed object is visible on the printing bed. The machine is labeled

Space resource exploration and demonstration missions advance

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Several hybrid rocket technologies hit advanced test stages