Advanced Space Propulsion CISAS Propulsion Group
Hybrid Rocket Engine for Aeronautic Applications
A hybrid rocket booster was developed by CISAS “G.Colombo”. The activity started from small-scale testing of lab motors and culminated on a successful testing of a demonstrator. The hybrid motor is propelled by self-pressurized nitrous oxide (N2O) as oxidizer and paraffin wax as solid fuel. The peak thrust is 20 kN, the total impulse 50 kNs and the N2O liquid phase burn time 3.5 seconds.
SPARTAN Project SPAce exploration Research for Throttleable Advanced eNgine
SPARTAN project aims at developing a throttleable propulsion technology, one of the key technologies essential for planetary soft and precision landing, by exploiting hybrid engine technology, and a new low-cost highly realistic test bed to qualify precision landing capability on ground. The project is coordinated by Thales Alenia Space. Our role is to provide CFD simulations of the hybrid rocket engine and to build up a test bed to simulate the H2O2 hybrid rocket. The program is been funded by the European Comunity in the frame of the FP7-space Program.
In the following a list of our major projects is reported
PROJECTS
HPH.com Helicon Plasma Hydrazine Combined Micro
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The objective of the research program was to design, optimize and develop a space plasma thruster based on helicon-radio-frequency technology and to apply it for the attitude and position control of a nano-satellite. Moreover, a detailed feasibility study has been conducted to evaluate the possibility of using the plasma thruster to heat and decompose a mono propellant. The feasibility study has assessed the possibility of building up a combined-two-mode-thruster able to operate in the low-thrust high-efficiency plasma-mode and high-thrust low-efficiency mono-propellant mode. Only the plasma thruster has been developed and fully tested during this study. The main characteristics of the thruster are:power 50 W, weight within 1.5 kg, thrust 1.5 mN, Specific Impulse (Isp) 1600 s. The program has been funded by the EC in the frame of the 7th Framework Program. We have been the consortium coordinator. |
