May 16, 2007
Success!

This is too cool: NAMMO successfully launches Hybrid Test Rocket from Andøya:

[T]he Norwegian based company Nammo Raufoss successfully launched a 10 meter long hybrid test rocket from Andøya Rocket Range in Norway.The propulsion system of the hybrid rocket was based on solid fuel and liquid oxygen.

The Hybrid Test Rocket (HTR) was developed, manufactured and assembled by Nammo Raufoss in Norway. The rocket motor, tank and valve system and the mobile Ground Support Equipment (GSE) have been designed by Nammo in cooperation with LOCKHEED MARTIN (LM) Michoud Operations, New Orleans, USA.

Got it on the first try.

This was the last project I worked on before moving from New Orleans to Denver, and easily the most fun project I've worked on so far (though it was rather trying in some respects at the time). I was responsible for the LOx tank, the intertank structure, and the payload adapter structure, along with configuration management/space control and the development of various software tools in Catia V5 to support the design effort. (That's not to brag - or not too much: there were only seven people on the project, so we all had to wear multiple hats.)

The article is a little off on the dimensions, though: the rocket was actually 10" in diameter by 40 feet in length (not including the ~4-foot payload). Skinnier than a pencil, in other words.

I can hardly wait to see the launch video -- I hear it's spectacular.

Posted by T.L. James on May 16, 2007 08:00 PM | TrackBack

Comments

I know what you mean by having to wear multiple hats, trying to develop a multi-engine bipropellant VTVL vehicle with a 4-person team gives one plenty of opportunity for "flexibility"... It's good to know, however, that you can sometimes get projects like that even when working for the big boys. Post a link to the video if the make it public.

~Jon



Posted by: Jonathan Goff at May 17, 2007 08:05 AM

That's awesome, congratulations on your success. The first satellite I ever worked on blew up on the launch pad (which is also a cool video but somehow less triumphant).



Posted by: Ferg at June 6, 2007 12:18 PM