Category: Stratos II hybrid propulsion

Quality Control of Solid Fuel Grains

  As reported, two solid fuel grains where produced last week. After casting the molten fuel into the liner, it shrinks significantly during cooling. This shrinkage gives rise to a risk of internal porosities and tears in the grains. This porosities will cause uneven regression of the fuel grain and less stable burning. This is…
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Propulsion Test Campaign at DLR Trauen

Between June and August 2014 five static tests (#6 – #10) took place with the DHX-200 Aurora hybrid propulsion system after the motor had been on the test stand five times at the facilities of TNO, Rijswijk in 2013. This was the final set of full scale ground tests to be conducted with this system before the launch…
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Stratos Fuel Grain Production

This week the propulsion team produced the grains that will fuel Stratos II in October. The hybrid DHX-200 Aurora motor uses liquid nitrous oxide to oxidise the solid fuel grain in the combustion chamber. The solid fuel grain consist of sorbitol, paraffin and micron sized aluminium powder. A mixture of 80, 10 and 10 percent…
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Propulsion System CFD Analysis

To date (May 2014) the Stratos II propulsion team has had two static test campaigns of the DHX-200 Aurora at TNO. Both campaigns resulted in the motor rupturing the chamber and the test being stopped prematurely. This issue and the solution to it has been talked about in previous blog posts. What was not mentioned…
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Propellant grain failure analysis

Over the past week, the propulsion team has been busy preparing for the last full-scale test. During the previous test, we encountered another burn trough of the chamber (see the previous story). Investigation of the chamber and grain afterwards suggested that the grain cracked during operation resulting in the flame reaching the wall.   The…
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Analysing the last rocket engine tests

In the previous post you read on our website you will have been able to see that the last tests at the TNO laboratory a few weeks ago did not end so well for our hybrid rocket engine (article). Just like the last tests in May the combustion chamber failed a few seconds into the…
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The difficulties of rocket motor testing

Developing and building a rocket is never smooth sailing, as has been shown again. Last Wednesday the Stratos II propulsion team was ready for another test of the Aurora engine at the test facility at TNO. Unfortunately again, just like the previous test, the rocket motor combustion chamber ruptured a few seconds into the burn.…
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Ready for the full scale test

  In the dark rocket test tunnel at TNO in Rijswijk the biggest machine ever build by Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering has been erected to demonstrate its power in the full scale, full duration tests of the Stratos II rocket engine.   Already in May this year we were shown the first glimpses of what…
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First Stratos propulsion tests at TNO

Since some time the DHX-200 Aurora rocket motor for the Stratos II rocket was set ready in the TNO rocket test facility in Rijswijk. This rocket motor that will propel the Stratos II rocket to 50 kilometres altitude of course needs to be tested to make sure that it can perform as expected. Stratos II…
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Latest updates on the TNO test campaign (10-06)

It has been a bit quite on our website regarding the TNO test campaign. That is because there is currently not a lot happening. The wind is still not blowing from the right direction and we are hoping for better weather. The forecasts for this Wednesday and Thursday look good so keep an eye open…
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