BLASTING off to the edge of space in SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic’s commercial spacecraft, may be one step closer after the successful testing last week of a new solid-liquid hybrid rocket motor. The test follows a review of a fatal explosion in 2007.
In 2004, the aircraft and rocket maker Scaled Composites of Mojave, California, won the Ansari X prize for SpaceShipOne, the first commercial spacecraft to reach suborbital space. Its motor burned a solid fuel using liquid nitrous oxide as an oxidiser.
It was during fuel flow tests with nitrous oxide that an explosion occurred at Scaled Composites’ facility on 26 July 2007. Three engineers were killed and three more badly injured. An enquiry, involving NASA, new safety measures for the motor, including switching the composite fuel tank liners to metal, using helium to pressurise both the fuel and inert volatile vapours, and eradicating potential contaminants.
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The new motor is “a scaled-up version of the SpaceShipOne rocket motor”, says Virgin Galactic’s president Will Whitehorn. “There are some changes since the first motor was designed, mainly related to additional safety features such as a helium tank.” Video footage showing the test firing can be seen at .
“There are some changes from SpaceShipOne’s motor, mainly related to new safety features”
However, US arms control restrictions mean that details of the rocket’s performance in the latest tests are likely to remain secret.
