Liquid Oxygen (LOX)
Monopropellants
- PSAN-I Ammonium Nitrate & Propellants
- SHARP Spaceplane
- Small Launch Vehicle
- Sounding Rockets
- Liquid Oxygen Monopropellants
- Lunar Soil Propellant (LSP)
- Lunar Bases & Lunar Concrete
- Small Launch Vehicle
- Pintle Nozzle With Thrust Vector Control
The development of a Lunar Soil Propellant lead to the idea of mixing common earth fuels into liquid oxygen (LOX) to form a monopropellant for use in rocket engines. Such a monopropellant would eliminate half the propellant systems which would save weight and reduce the cost of launch vehicles. Under NASA funding, the company explored a variety of fuels such as kerosene, motor oil, coal, methane and even ground up automobile tires. All of the fuels were solid while suspended in the LOX.
After evaluating the various combinations from the standpoint of performance, shock sensitivity and cost, kerosene/LOX monopropellant was chosen as the one to develop. Shown here is a beaker of kerosene/LOX monopropellant. The kerosene shows up as white particles suspended in LOX.
The monopropellant was successfully test fired in a small rocket engine without flashback from the combustion chamber to the propellant tank as shown below.
Rocket Engine Test Firing
Shown below is a video of a LOX monopropellant with motor oil as the fuel. The motor oil gives the mixture a yellow color unlike the kerosene/LOX monopropellant, which looks white. LOX monopropellants burn like solid propellants as a function of pressure. The video shows the burn rate being measured at atmospheric pressure. Burn rate trip wires are located axially down the side of the container holding the monopropellant. The monopropellant sits in a liquid nitrogen bath.