German rocket startup Hyimpulse completes suborbital test launch
The German rocket startup Hyimpulse yesterday succesfully completed its first suborbital test launch, launching from the Southern Launch spaceport on the south coast of Australia.
The 12-metre, 2.5-tonne test rocket dubbed “SR75” lifted off shortly after 0500 GMT from a launch site in Koonibba, South Australia. It is capable of carrying small satellites weighing up to 250 kg (551 pounds) to an altitude of up to 250 km (155 miles) while being fuelled by paraffin, or candle wax, and liquid oxygen.
Paraffin can be used as a cheaper and safer alternative fuel for rockets, reducing satellite transportation costs by as much as 50%, according to HyImpulse.
The company hopes to launch its SL-1 rocket on its first orbital test flight next year.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The German rocket startup Hyimpulse yesterday succesfully completed its first suborbital test launch, launching from the Southern Launch spaceport on the south coast of Australia.
The 12-metre, 2.5-tonne test rocket dubbed “SR75” lifted off shortly after 0500 GMT from a launch site in Koonibba, South Australia. It is capable of carrying small satellites weighing up to 250 kg (551 pounds) to an altitude of up to 250 km (155 miles) while being fuelled by paraffin, or candle wax, and liquid oxygen.
Paraffin can be used as a cheaper and safer alternative fuel for rockets, reducing satellite transportation costs by as much as 50%, according to HyImpulse.
The company hopes to launch its SL-1 rocket on its first orbital test flight next year.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Now to cram Henry Waxman in its throat.
The research and development of paraffin-based (fast-burning) hybrid rockets was initiated about two decades ago in the United States by Arif Karabeyoglu.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269215898_Development_and_testing_of_paraffin-based_hybrid_rocket_fuels
Sure has taken them a while to outdo the V-2.
Concerned: Considering that absolutely no one would have allowed the Germans to get anywhere near their own homebuilt rockets for at least a half century after the Nazis, this isn’t a surprise.
Gives new meaning to “Light this candle.”
Bob,
Not sure how much the Nazi past had to do with it. There was OTRAG [1] and eventually politics choked it out. The French saw it as a competitor to their new Ariane launcher; the Soviets feared that it’s an ICBM close to their (and their African allies’) borders; and the US disliked the potential competition to the new Space Shuttle and feared that regimes in Africa gained access.
I wish HyImpulse all the best. Hopefully it’s not too little too late in an increasingly overcrowded market.
_____
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OTRAG
Ian C: All the the specific issues you mention from the French, Soviets, the US, and we can certainly add the ESA to the mix are true, but even in the 1960s there was still a strong emotional undercurrent from all of Germany’s neighbors and former enemies that did not want to see it regain any missile capability. There were still too many people around from the WWII era.
Several generations needed to pass.
Hyimpulse is only one of four startups in Europe, three in Germany. Plus Avio in Italy is taking over its Vega rocket family from Arianespace. All stand a good chance, because Europe wants its own rocket industry, and has plenty of business it can send their way.
Blair Ivey: heh! Especially considering the Redstone Shepard rode was directly descended from the V-2.
Patrick: not trying to dump on anyone but the flow continues directly on to the the Saturn 1 first stage and arguably ending with the S1C (Saturn 5 first stage) which I sometimes think of being the world’s largest V2
Mr. Zimmerman:
I am critical of the use of hybrid technology for such a powerful application as a launch vehicle.
Hybrid rockets are significantly less powerful than liquids (which is why this particular launch vehicle for LEO requires three stages instead of two). Eliminating the liquid fuel tank portion (replacing it with a huge solid fuel combustion chamber) of a liquid rocket probably doesn’t actually make it any cheaper in terms of cost. (Addition: The LOX turbo pump of this rocket is powered by gas stored under pressure on board, which makes the hybrid rocket stage significantly heavier compared to a gas generator turbo pump drive of a liquid rocket.)
The reuse potential for hybrid rockets is also lower than for liquid rockets, as the entire large combustion chamber with solid fuel usually has to be replaced for every new flight (see SpaceShipTwo).
By the way, this hybrid rocket at least partially restores the original OTRAG concept by adopting the bundling principle for the hybrid rocket engines (which containing the fuel, guys, just the fuel, not the oxidizer!) for its individual rocket stages.
Mark Felton (March, 2019)
The Megaroc
British V-2 – How the UK Almost Won the Space
https://youtu.be/wWFFzL65dEQ
(7:02)
Looking at everything it looks like the Paraffin they are talking about is Kerosene.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OTRAG
so not candle wax or something new in the way of rocket fuels.