Interorbital Test Fires Rocket in Mojave

MOJAVE, Oct. 28, 2012 (IOS PR) —On a calm clear high-desert October evening, Interorbital Systems’ NEPTUNE rocket series’ main engine roared to life in its first hot-firing test. The engine, the IOS GPRE 7.5KNTA (General Purpose Rocket Engine; 7,500lb-thrust; Nitric Acid; Turpentine; Ablative cooling), blasted a 22-foot (6.71-meter) plume of fire across Interorbital’s Mojave Spaceport test [...]

Interorbital Systems engine firing in Mojave. (Credit: IOS)MOJAVE, Oct. 28, 2012 (IOS PR) —On a calm clear high-desert October evening, Interorbital Systems’ NEPTUNE rocket series’ main engine roared to life in its first hot-firing test.
The engine, the IOS GPRE 7.5KNTA (General Purpose Rocket Engine; 7,500lb-thrust; Nitric Acid; Turpentine; Ablative cooling), blasted a 22-foot (6.71-meter) plume of fire across Interorbital’s Mojave Spaceport test area, scorching the sand an additional 50 feet (15.24 meters) beyond the plume end.
The 7.5K-pound (33,362-newton) thrust engine is the largest rocket engine in the world utilizing high-density, storable nitric acid and turpentine. These hypergolic propellants provide almost instantaneous chemical ignition.
This static firing marks a major milestone in the evolution of the company’s NEPTUNE Modular Orbital Launch Vehicle series. Refining the engine operation paves the way for the first flight test of the CPM—Common Propulsion Module—the ...