Skyrora
UK-based aerospace firm Skyrora has commenced a series of full-duration tests to qualify the updated design of its 3D printed 70kN engine ahead of its first commercial orbital launch.
The engines have been additively manufactured using Skyrora’s Skyprint 2 machine for the first time, with production time said to be reduced by up to 66% and cost brought down by 20%. They will form critical components of the first and second stage of Skyrora’s XL orbital vehicle.
Skyrora has enhanced its engine by implementing an improved engine cooling chamber, which has increased the efficiency of the cooling process and extended the engine’s life cycle.
Through these engine tests, the life cycle and full operational envelope will be evaluated. The engine will run for 250 seconds, the same amount of time that it will run in a real mission to reach orbit, with a successful test indicated by nominal chamber pressures and thrust levels with no damage to the hardware. A test article iteration consisting of data analysis, design adjustments and manufacturing can be completed in approximately three weeks. Tests will be overseen by the company’s team of experts every week into the summer at Skyrora’s test site in Midlothian, Scotland.
Skyrora believes the updated 70kN engine will become the first ever commercial engine to use a closed-cycle staged combustion system run on a propellant combination of Hydrogen Peroxide and Kerosene upon qualification. A collaboration with the National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland’s (NMIS) will qualify the machine, materials and process of machining for Skyprint 2, which will allow Skyprint 2 to be used by third parties commercially.
Qualification will also see Skyrora scale up production, with plans already in place to build a series of production engines to test the first full stage of Skyrora XL – the final stage to be tested prior to a demo orbital launch. The third and second stages were tested in 2020 and 2022 respectively. Skyrora has also been working with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to progress their orbital launch vehicle licence application. This will enable Skyrora to commence commercial launch operations from SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands.
Skyrora
“We’re coming very close to finalising our engine qualification programme after a long journey of technical progress, which will be a massive success for the team,” commented Dr. Jack James Marlow, Skyrora Head of Engineering. “This is a key milestone which will qualify one of the main subsystems of our orbital launch vehicle to the correct standards for commercial operations, and as such, is a significant step in the journey to orbital launch. This progress would not be possible without the hard work of the team, who have done an amazing job enabling rapid fire testing.”
“Skyrora is making important progress towards the 70kN engine qualification, which is one of the key objectives of the pre-commercial launch service development activities supported by ESA’s Boost! Programme,” offered Jorgen Bru, Commercial Services Manager at the European Space Agency. “ESA is continuing to support Skyrora along the way to offer new commercial launch services for the benefit of a competitive space sector in Europe.”
“It’s impressive to see how innovative British-based companies such as Skyrora are using UK Space Agency funding to develop sector-leading technologies,” added Dr. Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency. “The new 3D printed engines are setting new standards in cost-effective sustainable design and manufacturing efficiency. While sustainability remains a complex challenge, it also presents a significant opportunity for the UK to catalyse future innovations, creating commercial opportunities and strengthening the UK’s global position in the space sector.”
