Norwegian / Finnish ammunition and rocket motors manufacturer Nammo has successfully tested its flight-weight hybrid rocket motor.
Testing was conducted at the company’s Green Propulsion facility for rocket motors in Raufoss, Norway.
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The trial saw the flight-weight unitary motor (FWUM) delivering stable, high-performance combustion and a thrust level of 3t.
The 356mm-long FWUM is being built for the Nucleus, a scientific sounding rocket, and features a full burn time of more than 35 seconds.
The 9m-long Nucleus rocket can reach a maximum altitude more than 100km, Nammo said in a statement.
During the first firing, the engine burned for five seconds before the main oxidiser valve was closed, terminating the operation in a controlled manner.
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By GlobalDataThe engine restarted after the first pulse, and it burned for ten more seconds with the valve open.
The catalytic reaction of the oxidiser caused ignition, which allowed the motor to restart an unlimited number of times.
Nammo Space and Offshore vice-president Onno Verberne said: "The test firing demonstrated – through a first firing and then shortly after, a second firing of the same motor – the re-start capability of Nammo’s hybrid technology at large scale."
The project is being carried out under a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA), and it is backed by the Norwegian Space Center (NRS).
Image: Nammo conducted a full-scale test firing of the flight-weight unitary motor. Photo: courtesy of Nammo.
