Development of Solid Rocket Igniter System for Turn-Key Space Access

Abstract

A new two-stage sounding rocket required a reliable and proven second stage ignition for the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) motor intended to operate as a first stage booster and thus was not designed for high altitude ignition. The design is a perforated Garolite ignition chamber to retain boron potassium nitrate pellets and a COTS nozzle for interfacing between the first and second stage. The design was validated in a flight test that resulted in successful second stage ignition at 13 km, while experiencing 30G’s and travelling at a speed exceeding Mach 5. This resulted in an apogee exceeding 85 km, with no visible damage to the nozzle or inner bore of the COTS motor.

Description

Keywords

Rocket, Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) motor

Citation

Nathan S. Humbert, Jeremy D. Paquin, Brandon Cea, Chase M. Lewis, Connor McQueen, Nicholas Mcdonald, Joseph Dietz and Chalie Galliand. "Development of Solid Rocket Igniter System for Turn-Key Space Access," AIAA 2021-3691. AIAA Propulsion and Energy 2021 Forum. August 2021.