Hybrid Rocket - Organizations Working On Hybrids

Organizations Working On Hybrids

Space Propulsion Group was founded in 1999 by Dr. Arif Karabeyoglu, Prof. Brian Cantwell and others from Stanford University to develop high regression-rate liquefying hybrid rocket fuels. They have successfully fired motors as large as 12.5 in. diameter which produce 13,000 lbf. using the technology and are currently developing a 24 in. diameter, 25,000 lbf. motor to be initially fired in 2010.

Orbital Technologies Corporation (Orbitec) has been involved in some US government funded research on hybrid rockets including the "Vortex Hybrid" concept.

Environmental Aerospace Corporation (eAc) was incorporated in 1994 to develop hybrid rocket propulsion systems. It was included in the design competition for the SpaceShipOne motor but lost the contract to SpaceDev.

Rocket Lab sells hybrid sounding rockets and related technology.

The Reaction Research Society (RRS), although known primarily for their work with liquid rocket propulsion, has a long history of research and development with hybrid rocket propulsion.

Copenhagen Suborbitals, a Danish rocket group, has designed and test-fired several hybrids using N₂O at first and currently LOX. Their fuel is epoxy, paraffin, or polyurethane.

Several universities have recently experimented with hybrid rockets. BYU, the University of Utah, and Utah State University launched a student-designed rocket called Unity IV in 1995 which burned the solid fuel hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) with an oxidizer of gaseous oxygen, and in 2003 launched a larger version which burned HTPB with nitrous oxide.

Stanford University is the institution where liquid-layer combustion theory for hybrid rockets was developed. The SPaSE group at Stanford is currently working with NASA Ames Research Center developing the Peregrine Sounding rocket which will be capable of 100 km altitude.

The WARR student-team at the Technical University of Munich is developing hybrid engines and rockets since the beginning of the 1970s. Using acids, oxygen or nitrous oxide in combination with polyethylene or HTPB. The development includes test stand engines as well as airborne versions, like the first German hybrid rocket Barbarella.

University of Brasilia's Hybrid Team has extensive research in paraffin/nitrous oxide hybrids having already made more than 50 tests fires. Hybrid Team is currently working liquefied propellant, numeric optimization and rocket design

Many other universities, such as Purdue University, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Hendrix College, the University of Illinois, Portland State University, and Texas A&M University have hybrid motor test stands that allow for student research with hybrid rockets. Boston University's student-run "Rocket Team", which in the past has launched only solid motor rockets, has completed several static tests of motors using paraffin and HTPB solid fuels and nitrous oxide as the oxidizer; the latest design is a 500psig, 75 lbf thrust HTPB/N₂O design dubbed "Mk.II."

Florida Institute of Technology has successfully tested and evaluated hybrid technologies with their Panthr Project.

A United Kingdom-based team (laffin-gas) is using four N₂O hybrid rockets in a drag-racing style car. Each rocket has an outer diameter of 150mm and is 1.4m long. They use a fuel grain of high-density wound paper soaked in cooking oil. The N₂O supply is provided by Nitrogen-pressurised piston accumulators which provide a higher rate of delivery than N₂O gas alone and also provide damping of any reverse shock.

Also in the United Kingdom the Bloodhound SSC team have The Falcon Project led by Daniel Jubb developing a hybrid rocket using HTP and HTPB.

There are a number of hybrid rocket motor systems available for amateur/hobbyist use in high-powered model rocketry. These include the popular HyperTek systems and a number of 'Urbanski-Colburn Valved' (U/C) systems such as RATTWorks, Skyripper Systems, West Coast Hybrids, Contrail Rockets, and Propulsion Polymers. All of these systems use nitrous oxide as the oxidizer and a plastic fuel (such as PVC or PolyPropylene) or a polymer-based fuel such as HTPB. This reduces the cost per flight compared to solid rocket motors, although there is generally more 'GSE' (ground support equipment) required with hybrids.

In Italy one of the leading centers for research in hybrid propellants rockets is CISAS (Center of Studies and Activities for Space) "G. Colombo", University of Padua. The activities cover all stages of the development: from theoretical analysis of the combustion process to numerical simulation using CFD codes, and then by conducting ground tests of small scale and large-scale rockets (up to 20 kN, N₂O-Paraffin based motors). One of these engines flew successfully in 2009.