High Altitude Ballooning as an Atmospheric Sounding System in the Pre-Flight Procedures of ILR-33 Amber

Spiralski, Marcin; Bęben, Karol; Konior, Wojciech; Cieśliński, Dawid

doi:10.2478/tar-2020-0005

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…While the vehicle's configuration allowed fewfold higher performance even at these stages of development [2,103], the altitude was limited by only partial filling of the oxidizer tank with hydrogen peroxide. The test range size and atmospheric conditions (wind conditions before each launch were determined using balloon sounding [111] and influenced the final rocket launch tower's elevation and oxidizer mass) did not allow higher apogees to be reached at the time of test site availability. During the maiden flight of the rocket, 28 liters of HTP were loaded; during the second one, 19 liters were loaded, and during the last one, 32.8 liters were loaded.…”

Section: In-flight Test Campaignsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Green Storable Hybrid Rocket Propulsion Technology Using 98% Hydrogen Peroxide as Oxidizer

et al. 2021

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This paper presents the development of indigenous hybrid rocket technology, using 98% hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizer. Consecutive steps are presented, which started with interest in hydrogen peroxide and the development of technology to obtain High Test Peroxide, finally allowing concentrations of up to 99.99% to be obtained in-house. Hydrogen peroxide of 98% concentration (mass-wise) was selected as the workhorse for further space propulsion and space transportation developments. Over the course nearly 10 years of the technology’s evolution, the Lukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Aviation completed hundreds of subscale hybrid rocket motor and component tests. In 2017, the Institute presented the first vehicle in the world to have demonstrated in-flight utilization for 98% hydrogen peroxide. This was achieved by the ILR-33 AMBER suborbital rocket, which utilizes a hybrid rocket propulsion as the main stage. Since then, three successful consecutive flights of the vehicle have been performed, and flights to the Von Karman Line are planned. The hybrid rocket technology developments are described. Advances in hybrid fuel technology are shown, including the testing of fuel grains. Theoretical studies and sizing of hybrid propulsion systems for spacecraft, sounding rockets and small launch vehicles have been performed, and planned further developments are discussed.

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Section: In-flight Test Campaignsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Green Storable Hybrid Rocket Propulsion Technology Using 98% Hydrogen Peroxide as Oxidizer

et al. 2021

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“…One of the applications that potentially stand to benefit from the presented solution is launch vehicles. Traditionally, wind profile measurements for such applications have relied on meteorological balloons [ 20 ] or wind towers with meteorological stations mounted at various heights. The disadvantages of the former solution mainly include the minimal number of measurements, wind drift of the balloon potentially affecting balloon data, and its unsuitability for prolonged, higher-resolution monitoring over an extended period during the day for a given location.…”

Section: Introduction and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

UAV Atmosphere Sounding for Rocket Launch Support

Bęben,

Noga,

Cieśliński

et al. 2023

Sensors

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One of the crucial branches of activity at the Łukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Aviation is developing a suborbital rocket vehicle capable of launching small payloads beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, reaching over 100 km in altitude. Ensuring safety is a primary concern, particularly given the finite flight zone and impact area. Crucial to safety analysis is the wind profile, especially in the very first seconds of a flight, when rocket velocity is of the same order as the wind speed. Traditional near-ground wind data sources, ranging from wind towers to numerical models of the atmosphere, have limitations. Wind towers are costly and unfeasible at many test ranges used for launches, while numerical modeling may not reflect the specific ground profile near the launcher due to their large cell size (2 to +10 km). Meteorological balloons are not favorable for such measurements as they aim to provide the launch operator with a wind profile at high altitudes, and are launched only 1–2 times per flight attempt. Our study sought to prototype a wind measurement system designed to acquire near-ground wind profile data. It focuses on measuring wind direction and speed at near-ground altitudes with higher flight frequency, offering data on demand shortly before launch to help ensure safety. This atmosphere sounding system consists of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with an onboard ultrasonic wind sensor. Some reports in the literature have discussed the possibility of using UAV-borne anemometers, but the topic of measurement errors introduced by placing the anemometer onboard an UAV remains under studied. Limited research in this area underlines the need for experimental validation of design choices–for specific types of UAVs, anemometers, and mounting. This paper presents a literature review, a detailed overview of the prototyped system, and flight test results in both natural (outdoor) and controlled (indoor, no wind) conditions. Data from the UAV system’s anemometer was benchmarked against a stationary reference weather station, in order to examine the influence of the UAV’s rotor on the anemometer readings. Our findings show a wind speed Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 5 m/s and a directional RMSE of below 5.3° (both averaged for 1 min). The results were also compared with similar UAV-based wind measurements. The prototyped system was successfully used in a suborbital rocket launch campaign, thus demonstrating the feasibility of integrating UAVs with dedicated sensors for performing regular meteorological measurements in automatic mode.

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