Green rocket propulsion research and development at the institute of aviation : problems and perspectives

The paper presents the main activities of the Institute of Aviation (IoA) in the field of chemical rocket propulsion. The relatively "fresh" research and development team performed many useful works within the last 5 years, starting from the strategy and ideas. Nowadays, the Space Technology Department of IoA acts as a member of international consortia realizing space projects, as well as itself working on its own assignments financed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and IoA funds. The important development aspect of rocket propulsion developed at IoA is the use of "green" propellants. These are chemicals, which are relatively safe for the environment and personnel, being a very promising alternative for storable toxic substances, e.g. hydrazine and derivatives, nitrogen tetroxide. R&D activities of STD are based on the use of Rocket Grade Hydrogen Peroxide (RGHP), also known as High Test Peroxide (HTP). This high-performance mono-propellant and oxidizer is regarded by European entities as one of the most promising candidates to replace hydrazine and its derivatives in the future. Due to numerous advantages, hydrogen peroxide is better suited for systems with human interaction that most of other propellant combinations. The paper contains selected results of research on green rocket propulsion performed at IoA, in which 98% hydrogen peroxide was used as oxidizer and monopropellant. Three types of rocket engines: monopropellant, liquid bipropellant and hybrid have been investigated and are still being developed.