July 15, 2023
Unlike other rockets from the continental US, international rocket groups need to contend with customs and shipping. The same process applied to the EX-3, the LOX-HTPB hybrid rocket developed by WARR, from the Technical University of Munich in Germany. EX-3 exists on the upper end of the "Q" motor impulse classification, with more than 3 times the energy of the typical bipropellant rockets that have flown until recently.
Unlike bipropellant rockets, hybrids are loaded onto the rail with the fuel loaded, which makes it much heavier than it already is. Since the Microcosm rail is designed for even bulkier rockets that are lowered onto it by crane, breech loading the EX-3 onto the rail is a difficult and awkward task.
Uniquely with the EX-3, the LOX fill port was accessed from a fill tube at the top of the tank. With the excessive heat of midsummer desert, filling the rocket with cryogenic propellant took quite a bit of time. The propellant fill time is impacted by the diameters of the fill and vent lines, which were smaller than usually employed, at only 6mm. Part of WARR's objectives for this test campaign was to collect data for their other cryogenic rockets in development.
17 авг 2023
