GenCorp [GY] subsidiary Aerojet successfully completed a hot-fire test of its Low Earth Orbit-7 (LEO) second stage rocket motor Aug. 14 at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards AFB, Calif., according to a company statement.
A hot-fire test attempts to validate motor design features by measuring thrust performance characteristics of a solid rocket motor ignited in a ground test apparatus, Aerojet spokeswoman Kristin Conner told Defense Daily yesterday in an email.
Three different LEO motors will provide the axial propulsion for the Super Strypi launch vehicle, which will enable small satellite launches at reduced cost. Following the fabrication and test of this first set of ground test motors, Aerojet will build a set of flight demonstration motors under contract from the University of Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory and Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) office. The flight demonstration vehicle is scheduled to be launched in the fall of 2013, according to a statement.
Conner said the Super Strypi is a new three-stage, spin-stabilized small launch vehicle under development with ORS at Kirtland AFB, N.M. The vehicle is 52 inches in diameter and stands 68 feet tall and payload capacity ranges from 200-300 kilograms (kg) depending of orbital insertion requirements. The second stage LEO-7 motor carries approximately 7,000 pounds of solid rocket propellant, according to a statement.
Conner said Aerojet plans to hot-fire test the other two LEO motors, the LEO-46 first stage and LEO-1 third stage, in the spring of 2013.
Aerojet monitored the recent test in support of the ORS-4 program formerly known as the Low Earth Orbiting Nanosatellite Integrated Defense Autonomous System (LEONIDAS) program, Air Force spokeswoman Valerie Skarupa said in an email. Skarupa said ORS-4 is a joint venture between the Air Force’s ORS office, Sandia National Laboratories and Hawaii Space Center. Sandia is the launch vehicle integrator and is designing and building all structures, avionics, and interfaces for the launch vehicle. Hawaii Space Flight Center will provide the launch rail and launch pad while Aerojet will provide the three rocket motors.
Skarupa said the launch rail and launch pad are in contract negotiations pending final design and environmental assessment approval, respectively. Skarupa added the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, in Hawaii will host the ORS-4 launch mission.