Alpha Impulsion tests its hybrid rocket engine
Our propulsion team recently reached an exciting milestone by conducting a series of hot fire tests on the first hybrid Alpha Impulsion engine. This step was vital for evaluating the engine’s performance under various conditions and validating the foundational elements of our technology. We’re on track to launch the world’s first autophage rocket.
In December 2023, our entire team came together at Opus Aerospace’s ground facilities to carry out igniter tests and determine the best configuration for our catalyser bed. While the first test didn’t reach the expected output temperature, a quick reconfiguration led to success in the second test just a few hours later. We had planned a third test, but given the positive results, we decided to directly shift our focus to hot firing.
On January 10th 2024, we fired our engine for the first time to assess its performance under nominal conditions. Despite some sensor damage caused by the exhaust, the test proceeded as expected, and a thorough examination revealed no damage to the engine, confirming our initial impressions. In the following months, we conducted four more hot fire tests to characterize the engine’s performances under different conditions. These included changes in oxidizer flow, testing a different injector configuration, and using a grooved fuel grain to replicate in-flight conditions as closely as possible.
All five hot fire test resulted in an ignition. These promising results show that we’re on track to achieve the performance needed to launch a rocket, and we’re optimistic that this will happen soon. Of course, there are still some areas to refine, but we’re already hard at work on our next major goal: building and launching Ambre, the world’s first autophage rocket. We’re aiming for a lift-off with our small-scale demonstrator by the end of the year, paving the way to the first autophage launcher capable of reaching orbit in 2027. If you’re curious enough, results from the test campaign will be presented at the Space Propulsion Conference 2024 in a few weeks.
Team spirit was very high during these few months
We’d like to express our sincere appreciation to the partners who made these tests possible. Especially to Opus Aerospace for providing testing facilities and to CNES for their crucial support.
