F. SCHEUERPFLUG, T. RÖHR, T. HUBER, M. REINOLD, D. HARGARTEN, L. KOBOW, R. KIRCHHARTZ, M. KUHN, A. Weigand, M. BERNDL, J. WERNETH

DOI Number: 10.60853/9fz8-wr22

Conference number: HiSST-2024-00368

The Red Kite© is a commercially available, serially produced and ITAR-free solid propellant sounding rocket motor in the class of one ton of Net Explosive Mass. It was developed in response to a sustained demand from the scientific community for high performance sounding rocket vehicles. The Red Kite is primarily designed to be employed as a booster for military surplus and commercial second stages but can also be used as a sustainer when boosted by either an even larger motor or by another Red Kite. Typical payloads will range between 200 to 600kg. When used in a mission design tailored to microgravity research, typical apogees range between 250 to 300km, while the needs of hypersonic community can be met by a suppressed trajectory design, typically providing horizontal flight at Mach numbers between 6 to 9 in the altitude band 30 to 60km. Following a Phase A definition study in 2017, the DLR contracted Bayern-Chemie GmbH in 2020 for the development and manufacturing of the Red Kite motor, initially providing 30 serial units. Following design and materials selection phase, ground testing of mechanical, pyrotechnical and electrical subsystems was conducted. Finally, two scale qualification motors were test-fired in July 2023 at Esrange Space Center, with the test models tempered to the upper and lower limits of the operational temperature envelope after having completed a rigorous protocol of thermal cycling and mechanical vibration representative of loads to be expected during handling, transport and flight. Following the successful qualification, serial production was initiated and serial motor number one released for a maiden flight from Andøya Space Center in Nov. 2023, proving the design in flight with success. It gives a summary of the motor performance, parts of the system design, the qualification program and its application spectrum in current and future sounding rocket vehicles.

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In Categories: 1.Events, HiSST 2024, Propulsion Systems and Components
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