China3D printingNet, June 5, after 49 successful laboratory tests, Florida-based private space company Rocket Crafters began testing a prototype model of its STAR-3D hybrid rocket engine in February. The patent-pending 5000-pound thrust comet engine has undergone three tests to prove that it can be expanded from the laboratory to a more commercially meaningful size.With the completion of the test, the company is now preparing for the first launch will use3D printingThe first suborbital test flight of a fueled launch vehicle, this is the first opportunity to see the performance of motion, not just bolted to the test bench.
The first two tests were successfully completed and closely matched the performance model created by Rocket Crafters, while the third test showed an abnormal overpressure, which damaged the test bench and test engine. The third test, which was unsuccessful, obviously attracted people’s attention. However, there was no explosion.
It is difficult to get into space, and it is even more difficult to prepare and build for it. During the test, many rockets and rocket engine prototypes exploded. Failure is an important part of rocket science, and the engineering behind it all involves testing, failure, learning and reconstruction. This is exactly what Rocket Crafters did. In fact, after an exception occurs, the engineering team will dig deeper into the hardware and record the data to determine what happened and how to prevent this in future tests.
After extensive analysis, they concluded that the engine’s auxiliary components initially failed, which caused a greater overpressure in the combustion chamber. Fortunately, the team found no problems with the core STAR-3D engine design. Company officials said that it is still considered successful in terms of research and development.
Said Robert Fabian, President of Rocket Crafters“That’s why we conducted the test. He has 25 years of experience in the operation and maintenance of military space and missiles. We found and fixed the problems in the test.”
With the completion of the large-scale proof-of-concept test, Rocket Crafters will learn from the experience and apply it to the next large-scale project scheduled for the end of this year: a flight test-3D hybrid rocket engine powered by a smaller STAR aircraft. This will be the first flight engine of Rocket Crafters. The rocket will perform two more consecutive larger test flights, each going into space, returning to Earth, and then entering orbit. Soon thereafter, the Intrepid small satellite launch vehicle will be used for commercial services to low earth orbit (LEO).
Intrepid-1 is expected to deliver about 500 kilograms of payload to LEO. It will be the first in a series of “launch on demand” hybrid rocket-powered launch vehicles designed to put small satellites and spacecraft into orbit. It is expected to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in the future, and the cost of each mission is tentatively set at 9 million U.S. dollars.
STAR-3D powered rocket engine (Source: Rocket Crafters)
As part of the booming aerospace industry at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida, Rocket Crafters has been committed to producing rocket engines and pioneering them3D printingPioneer of rocket fuel.The company is using the patent-pending horizontal3D printingMethod to produce plastic fuel pellets, which can reduce the production time of rail-grade fuel pellets to several hours in a single section. This means that the development and manufacture of new engines of almost any size and scale will be completed in a matter of weeks, rather than the years required for more complex liquid dual-propulsion engines or more dangerous solid rocket motors.
Rocket Crafters claims that the plastic fuel core of the printed engine makes it more reliable, safer and smoother than other solid fuels because it eliminates the risk of accidental explosions in solid and liquid rocket engines.
Test the Comet 5000 lbf engine (Source: Rocket Crafters)
In fact, hybrid rocket engines use a combination of solid and liquid or gaseous fuels. Hybrid engines have several advantages over their strictly solid or liquid counterparts. Solid rockets cannot be throttled and restarted, while hybrid rockets can, and because of its mechanical simplicity, hybrid vehicles can be developed faster and cost less than liquid rocket engines. Rocket Crafters’ rockets have only two moving parts. Compared with liquid or solid rocket engines, they are also safer because storing fuel in two different states prevents accidental explosions.
Many companies have been using3D printingTo improve the cost-effectiveness and safety of spacecraft manufacturing. With a large number of activities on Rocket Crafters and a very unique rocket engine design, the company hopes to enter the emerging space private launch service industry, thereby completely changing the marketability of small satellite launches.
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