The Norwegian Initiative for a Satellite Nano-Launcher

Activities at Nammo directed towards nano-launcher development have been growing for many years now. The main focus is on hybrid rocket motorization development, launcher architecture and system studies, all with various level of support from the Norwegian Space Center, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission. The future concept of operation of the launcher has been identified, which makes extensive use of existing Norwegian space infrastructure. The targeted launch capacity is 20-35 kg to LEO initially, 50 kg potentially, from a launch site ideal for polar and Sun-Synchronous Orbits (SSO). The use of hybrid propulsion is the key to enable launcher mission flexibility and a low-cost approach. Recent motor test campaigns have demonstrated consistent high performance, essential for an efficient launcher propulsion system. To demonstrate the performance of Nammo’s hybrid technology, Nammo and the Andøya Space Center (ASC) are getting ready to launch a sounding rocket in the spring 2017, the Nucleus, which will be the first Norwegian-designed and -built rocket to reach space. Selecting the right nano-launcher architecture, performing detailed system and optimization studies while carefully balancing cost and performance are among the upcoming activities