Lessons learned and the recent achievements of a three-stage suborbital rocket production

Abstract

The project presented in this article, which consists in designing and launching a three-stage suborbital rocket with a 40 kg payload covers the subjects of the rapid development of a multi-stage proof-of-concept vehicle with a limited time to deploy. These finite resources and a negligible percentage of the technology available tested in-house in advance led to the implementation of chosen, well-known industrial solutions into the concept for a winning strategy. This paper presents the recent achievements and lessons learned from the production phase of the components, namely: the rocket motor, control section compartment, guidance and navigation bay, together with recent achievements and future challenges. This set of components, derived from the project, will fill the gap in the technological chain for future Polish launchers and munition. The three-stage suborbital rocket development project is divided into three phases, which will last a total of three years. The first phase is the conceptual design stage, along with laboratory tests of solutions and subsystems used in the rocket. The second phase consists in flight tests for individual stages, together with the decisive flight of a three-stage rocket made to reach the Kármán line. The final stage involves the commercialization of the developed technology and the creation of a service for carrying research loads of up to 40 kg. The project is valued at approximately USD 5 million. The project is co-financed by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCRD) as part of dedicated support for the Polish space industry.