Northrop Grumman Demonstrates Rocket Engine Design Using Oxygen, Methane Propellants

November 24, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

More than 50 separate tests demonstrated performance, operating stability and design margin of the 100 lb. f-thrust rocket, designated the TR408, according to Northrop Grumman.

The tests were designed to validate the capabilities and performance of the integrated engine design, said Northrop Grumman.

The TR408 uses two propellant valves, no moving parts other than valves and contains a built-in spark igniter to initiate combustion of injected propellants. The reaction control engine operates under short pulse and steady-state modes.

This engine is capable of vaporizing both the oxidizer (liquid oxygen) and fuel (liquid methane) by passing these propellants through cooling passages located in the thrust chamber wall before injecting them into the chamber for combustion, said Northrop Grumman.

If gaseous instead of cryogenic liquid propellants are fed to the engine, the gases still provide cooling and will enter the injector at a higher temperature, said Northrop Grumman.

A design that ensures gas-gas injection results in consistent performance and combustion stability, claims Northrop Grumman. Previous rocket engine designs using propellant to cool the chamber do not vaporize any of the propellant or may only vaporize one of the propellants, which is typically the fuel.

The ability to operate under a range of inlet conditions helps reduce the complexity and weight of cryogenic propulsion systems that perform random pulsing for attitude control, according to Northrop Grumman.

Source: Northrop Grumman Corp.