SVZ-1 test rocket completed a successful flight

January 15, 2016

On December 24, 2015 SVZ-1 test rocket completed a successful flight.

At Lin Industrial we traditionally call such rockets flying testbeds, because their flights don't have independent value, but serve for testing systems for space launch vehicle etc.

We regularly launch subsonic flying testbeds (for example, see the October launch) for testing the control system (CS), but the CS needs to be tested at supersonic speeds as well.

However, creating a supersonic rocket is not an easy task. That's why our partner Real Rockets from Kirov created a simplified SVZ-1 rocket with MD-1000 solid rocket motor.

MD-1000 motor specifications

  • Body material: D16T alloy
  • Propellants: composite, ammonium perchlorate-based (3 grains with a total mass of 455 g)
  • Nozzle material: MPG-6 graphite
  • Nozzle throat: 12.5 mm
  • Total impulse: 924 N∙s
  • Maximum thrust: 618 N
  • Average thrust: 479 N
  • Maximum pressure: 62 atm
  • Burn time: 1.9 sec
  • Specific impulse: 199 s
  • Propellant mass: 0.455 kg
  • Empty mass: 0.908 kg

The flight objective is validation of theoretical estimations, verification of operating stability of a new solid motor in flight with high accelerations and refinement of rocket search procedure. No CS was installed on SVZ-1 - only three-axis accelerometer and two pressure altimeters. Accelerometer allows to determine how fast the rocket is moving: if it didn't deviate from the vertical, then by integrating the accelerometer data along the vertical axis you can determine the speed. If the rocket slightly deviates from the vertical, there's nothing to worry about — the speed value comes with a small error.

Having processed the flight data we can tell that our theoretical estimations closely agree with obtained results. SVZ-1 accelerated to 290 m/s (1044 km/h), while the estimated speed was 285 m/s. Estimated flight altitude was 2454 m, but the actual one is lower, as the rocket deviated from the vertical at launch — 2027 m (by AltimeterThree altimeter) and 2122 m (by ComFly-030 instrument).

The next milestone is the creation of SVZ-2 supersonic rocket with grid fins, control system and supersonic flight duration of 5 seconds.