Antares e.V.
20 kN Testbed
Lander
100 kN Testbed
Hybrid Launcher
- Details
(back to Hybrid Launcher)
- Feasibility
a. Stage 1 shortly after lift off in 3km altitude. Below You can see german villages. Don't wonder why we could fly over inhabited regions. It's simply because a starting hybrid rocket is not more dangerous for people and environment than a starting aerojet.
c. Stage 3 ignites for accelerating itself and the payload within the next minutes to nearly orbital velocity.
b. Stage 2 in 40km altitude. The first stage has just been jettisoned. The four strap on boosters, that form the second stage, work. The engine in the middle is still quiet. The first stage, that we can't see in the picture, is falling back on a ballistic trajectory. It will land with three parachutes, will be transported to the launching place by a heavy lift truck and will be refurbished for the next launch within a week.
d. Stage 3 throws away its payload shroud. The shroud falls, like the four second stage strap on boosters did before, back to earth, e.g. into the sea, a bigger lake or onto an uninhabited land region in the near of the launching facility. Because of the much higher flight velocity compared to the first stage, the second stage boosters and the shroud will burn while reentring and can't be reused.
e. Stage 3 after reignition and a second short burning phase in Earth orbit. Within the next seconds the payload, a small satellite, will be separated. After the payload separation the third stage will reignite again for deorbiting. Nothing else than the payload remains in orbit.