Pre-design study of a sub-orbital vehicle concept and study of the N₂O/paraffin regression rate in a scaled hybrid rocket engine

The FAST20XX (Future High-Altitude High-Speed Transport 20XX) project is an European led project that includes the contribution of a consortium of European research, academic and industrial organizations under the leadership of ESA. Within the framework of the FAST20XX project the ALPHA(Airplane Launched Phoenix Aircraft) vehicle is one such project that is based on exploiting the existing technical expertise and capabilities for low energy sub-orbital flight. The ALPHA vehicle concept incorporates an air-launch system from a carrier aircraft. The ALPHA vehicle is designed for three occupants including the pilot for a minimum altitude of 100km, and less than 130Km. The ALPHA vehicle is a scaled down version of the sub-orbital space transportation concept called Hopper. After separation from the mother ship (carrier aircraft) the ALPHA vehicle ignites its rocket engine. One of the major thrusts of the study is the investigation into hybrid rocket engines. Since conventional liquid and solid propellent engines are prohibitive due to financial and safety concerns - a low cost, ecological and non-hazardous hybrid propulsion system is investigated. The hybrid propulsion system is based on nitrous oxide oxidizer in combination with a solid propellent paraffin fuel. The current study deals with the experimental investigation of a ULB constructed hybrid rocket motor and the implementation of the VDK-ULB vehicle and engine sizing modules for design optimization of the vehicle configuration and trajectory.