\n<\/p>\n
In June, engineers at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, unveiled an innovative, 11-inch hybrid rocket motor testbed.<\/p>\n
The new hybrid testbed, which features variable flow capability and a 20-second continuous burn duration, is designed to provide a low-cost, quick-turnaround solution for conducting hot-fire tests of advanced nozzles and other rocket engine hardware, composite materials, and propellants.<\/p>\n
Solid rocket propulsion remains a competitive, reliable technology for various compact and heavy-lift rockets as well as in-space missions, offering low propulsion element mass, high energy density, resilience in extreme environments, and reliable performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time consuming and costly to put a new solid rocket motor through its paces \u2013 identifying how materials perform in extreme temperatures and under severe structural and dynamic loads,\u201d said Benjamin Davis, branch chief of the Solid Propulsion and Pyrotechnic Devices Branch of Marshall\u2019s Engineering Directorate. \u201cIn today\u2019s fast-paced, competitive environment, we wanted to find a way to condense that schedule. The hybrid testbed offers an exciting, low-cost solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Initiated in 2020, the project stemmed from NASA\u2019s work to develop new composite materials, additively manufactured \u2013 or 3D-printed \u2013 nozzles, and other components with proven benefits across the spacefaring spectrum, from rockets to planetary landers.<\/p>\n
After analyzing future industry requirements, and with feedback from NASA\u2019s aerospace partners, the Marshall team recognized that their existing 24-inch rocket motor testbed \u2013 a subscale version of the Space Launch System booster \u2013 could prove too costly for small startups. Additionally, conventional, six-inch test motors limited flexible configuration and required multiple tests to achieve all customer goals. The team realized what industry needed most was an efficient, versatile third option.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 11-inch hybrid motor testbed offers the instrumentation, configurability, and cost-efficiency our government, industry, and academic partners need,\u201d said Chloe Bower, subscale solid rocket motor manufacturing lead at Marshall. \u201cIt can accomplish multiple test objectives simultaneously \u2013 including different nozzle configurations, new instrumentation or internal insulation, and various propellants or flight environments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat quicker pace can reduce test time from months to weeks or days,\u201d said Precious Mitchell, solid propulsion design lead for the project.<\/p>\n
Another feature of great interest is the on\/off switch. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the big advantages to a hybrid testbed,\u201d Mitchell continued. \u201cWith a solid propulsion system, once it\u2019s ignited, it will burn until the fuel is spent. But because there\u2019s no oxidizer in hybrid fuel, we can simply turn it off at any point if we see anomalies or need to fine-tune a test element, yielding more accurate test results that precisely meet customer needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team expects to deliver to NASA leadership final test data later this summer. For now, Davis congratulates the Marshall propulsion designers, analysts, chemists, materials engineers, safety personnel, and test engineers who collaborated on the new testbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not just supporting the aerospace industry in broad terms,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re also giving young NASA engineers a chance to get their hands dirty in a practical test environment solving problems. This work helps educate new generations who will carry on NASA\u2019s mission in the decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
For nearly 65 years, Marshall teams have led development of the U.S. space program\u2019s most powerful rocket engines and spacecraft, from the Apollo-era Saturn V rocket and the space shuttle to today\u2019s cutting-edge propulsion systems, including NASA\u2019s newest rocket, the Space Launch System. NASA technology testbeds designed and built by Marshall engineers and their partners have shaped the reliable technologies of spaceflight and continue to enable discovery, testing, and certification of advanced rocket engine materials and manufacturing techniques.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Learn more about NASA Marshall capabilities at:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n