WASHINGTON – Rocket propulsion startup URSA Major is working with US defense agencies and military contractors to accelerate the development and testing of draper liquid rocket engines. Goal: To deploy engines that could be used in next-generation missiles that will become part of the Trump administration’s Iron and Moon missile defense initiative.
Last year, URSA Major completed ground testing of a draper engine developed with US Air Force funding. These hot fire tests were conducted at the company’s facility in Barthow, Colorado. Now, the company is planning a flight test campaign to further mature its designs and explore military applications and commercial applications in space tug-of-war and in-space transport.
“We are committed to providing a range of services to our customers,” said Christopher Spagnoretti, Chief Product Officer at URSA Major.
Promoting challenges
The newspaper’s propulsion to the new missile defense shield highlights the need for better propulsion technology, as iron domes require high-performance inserter missiles that can operate from the ground or from space, Spagnoletti noted. .
Many current propulsion systems struggle to meet the size and weight requirements of tactical missiles, he said. Draper is designed to offer a liquid propulse alternative that offers more flexibility compared to traditional solid rocket motors and air-breathing scramjets.
“The draper has a form factor for a solid rocket motor,” Spagnoletti told SpaceNews.
The combination of non-crystalline kerosene peroxide fuels in the engine provides a simplified storage solution compared to engines using liquid oxygen. As these propellants remain liquid at room temperature, he explains, eliminating the need for complex cooling systems, allowing for long-term storage without special equipment, and for immediate use when needed I’ve done it.
Missile Defense Program
The Pentagon’s Iron Dome initiative proposes the use of “a diffused, space-based interceptor capable of boost phase intercepts.” This means that many of these weapons will intercept and destroy missiles coming into the boost phase, or intercept and destroy the early stages of missile flight, where the engine is still burning.
Spagnoletti said the 4,000-pound thrust draper engine is suitable for space-based interceptors as it is designed for both atmospheric and spatial propulsion.
Today’s missile defense systems rely primarily on solid rocket motors for storage efficiency and rapid deployment. Polar weapons often use scrumiet, which ingests air oxygen as an oxidant. Meanwhile, drapers are “afflicted by the environment,” he added.
Development and Scaling
A 2023 Congressional Budget Office report highlighted the propulsion challenges in US high-tholic missile development, noting that maintaining engine performance in flight is an important hurdle. The report compared the challenges to “continuing to light up games in hurricanes.”
Spagnoletti said the URSA major is working with multiple defense agencies. Its main partner is the Air Force Research Institute, which co-funded the development of Draper. The company is currently working with the Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and although the URSA Major has not yet disclosed any specific partnerships, it has been discussed with major defense contractors. There is.
A potential use for Draper is a postponed glide vehicle that can be maneuvered in the middle of flight to hit moving targets. A weapon in this class needs a propulsion system that can handle extreme conditions while providing sustained thrust, Spagnoletti said. “We spend a lot of time with SMDC and MDA, focusing on very specific targets and hypernic targets.”
If flight tests are successful, the next challenge for the URSA major is to expand production, which requires government support, he said. Startups are appearing to meet the demands of newspapers for new propulsion technologies, but many have struggled to expand their manufacturing capabilities.
Spagnoletti said the presidential order of the iron dome can reconstruct the priorities of the defense industrial base. “There’s been a huge increase in activity and I hope this continues,” he said. Defense agencies are working to better understand tools at their disposal and to help them move promising technology from the development stage to full-scale production.
“It’s really a division between ‘great ideas’ and the ability to scale these complex machines,” he said.
