Rocket Propulsion Engineering Company Small Launch Vehicle

Rocket Propulsion Engineering (RPe) is developing the first in a family of two low-cost, two stage, small rocket vehicles suitable for target, suborbital, and small-sat orbital applications. The first of these two launch vehicles, the Prospect LV-1 will have an orbital payload of 300-400 lb. The larger vehicle, the Prospect LV-2, uses about 80% of the components and technology of the LV-1 and will orbit payloads of 1500-1700 lb. Two engines are being developed. A first stage 30,000 lbf class engine (R1-30L) and a second stage engine of approximately 2400 lbf (R1-2H). The engine designs are essentially identical except for size. Propellants are hydrogen peroxide/kerosene. The engines are ablatively cooled with additional film cooling. Chamber pressure is approximately 715 PSIA. Both engines use centrifugal turbopumps driven by an open cycle, bipropellant gas generator. Medium-technology pump-fed rockets have significant advantages over pressure fed alternatives, provided the pump technology remains simple. Among these advantages are: smaller, lighter, more efficient engines; less propellant use; and simpler and smaller ground-handling equipment. Most importantly, propellant tank structure is lighter and much simpler to engineer and manufacture, and high-pressure helium tankage is greatly reduced. RPe therefore decided to put the engineering effort into developing the turbopump rather than pressure-fed vehicle structures. To be practical and cost effective, the turbopump must be simple by modern rocket engine standards. To this end, RPe has been pursuing a very modular, scalable pump design, utilizing as few components as possible – all components being readily available through standard commercial supply and manufacturing processes. The result is a very simple, very low-cost pump design that significantly enhances the overall vehicle design and greatly reduces vehicle structural weight and propellant requirements. Vehicle structure employs weight-saving features such as the use of a common propellant tank bulkhead and the extensive use of modern composites. Storable, ambient temperature propellants eliminate many of the material, embrittlement, and strain-related design problems that typically accompany cryogenic vehicles. The engines for these vehicles, especially the smaller R1-2H, should also be attractive candidates for use as the main propulsion engines on orbital transfer upper stages and as storable spacecraft engines