Solid propellant space launcher program

Originally posted by upmedia.mg:

The Republic Of China (Taiwan) Solid Propellant Satellite Launch Vehicle Program

2019年01月08日 21:46:00

The Ministry of National Defense has developed a space launch vehicle capable of placing a 50 to 200 kilograms microsatellites into a 500-kilometer SSO orbit, under the code name "Kirin Project" (麒麟專案). It is reported that this year three sets of rocket propulsion vehicles were built. The entire project plans to manufacture six sets of rocket propulsion vehicles. After ground testing, the first flight-test will be carried out smoothly in 2021.

It is reported that starting from this year, after the Kirin project first produced three sets of rocket propulsion vehicles, each for static ground testing works, the entire project plans to manufacture six sets of rocket propulsion vehicles.

After completing the various ground testing, system integration and system testing are carried out.

Because the launch vehicle is a four-stage solid-fuel rocket, each stage separation requires a telemetry and control system. The flight attitude control cannot pilot the rocket after take off. This requires guidance. Technology that is the focus of the "Star Show Project" (星展專案). In addition, due to the weight of the rocket carrier, whether the launch platform of the existing Jiupeng base (九鵬基地) can bear the weight, the Chinese Academy of Sciences will carry out geological exploration to ensure the safety of the launch pad.

Jiupeng base (九鵬基地): Asia's next satellite launch center.[web.archive.org]
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Kirin SLV, similar to the 4 stages solid propellant Indian SLV-3 carrier rocket.[web.archive.org]
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Link[web.archive.org]
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Originally posted by Aerospace Daily & Defense Report:

First hybrid propellant space launcher HAPITH-I

Taiwanese Company Aims At Launch Costs 10% Of Competitors’

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Oct 24, 2019

Bradley Perrett


Hot fire test of Tispace 1-metric-ton-thrust engine: Tispace

A Taiwanese company plans to enter the market for light space launches with what it says will be 10% of the costs of current major operators, thanks to an efficient production setup and use of hybrid solid-liquid propulsion.

Launch of a two-stage demonstrator rocket is scheduled for November, to be followed by monthly launches of larger production rockets in 2021, said Yen-Sen Chen, founder and CEO of the company, Taiwan Innovation Space (Tispace).

At first, each launch by the expendable, three-stage Hapith V production rocket will be priced at $6-7 million, Chen said. This will deliver up to 390 kg (860 lb.) to a low-inclination orbit of 600- 700 km (370-430 mi.). “We have lots of room for a lower price,” Chen added, since costs would be so low.

The initial production facility near Taipei, with a capacity of 12 rockets a year, will be able to achieve the targeted cost of 10% of competitors’, Chen said. But the company is looking for a larger site farther south for a plant that could build 100 rockets a year.

Engines of the Hapith V and the Hapith 1 demonstrator are almost devoid of machinery. Being hybrid, they do not require the elaborate production and handling facilities of potentially explosive solid-propellant motors.

The fuel is a special hard rubber, made in Taiwan. The oxidizer is nitrous oxide fed to the engine by tank pressure, which begins at 6 MPa (870 psi.) at launch, falling to 1 MPa at the time of engine cutoff; there are no turbo pumps.

Tispace has tested engines of various thrust levels. Specific impulse, a measure of propulsion efficiency, will be 270 sec. for the first stage and 301 sec. for the second and third, the company estimates. This is regarded as adequate rather than exceptional, since the most important engine characteristic is simplicity and adaptability to low-cost production.

A contractor will supply the fuel in the single cylindrical block needed for each engine, Chen said. No trimming or other adjustment of shape will be required. Insulation will be placed manually on the fuel blocks, then uncured carbon fiber composite will be laid around them automatically to create the case. The engine will then go into an oven for unpressurized curing of the composite at 90C (190F).

The oxidizer tanks will similarly be made automatically with the same, T800-grade carbon fiber composite. The company chose carbon fiber in preference to the usual aluminum to reduce weight. The company also believes carbon fiber suits low-cost fabrication. About 90% of the Hapith V structure is made of the material.

The engines use commercially available valves and stainless steel piping. Injectors, of proprietary design, will be made with 3D printing.

Attitude control is effected in the first stage by venting nitrous oxide and in the second and third stages by gimballing the engines (that is, the encased rubber blocks).

Chen set up the company in 2016, having previously worked for Taiwan’s National Space Organization. It has 105 employees, he said, speaking on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress, held in Washington Oct. 21-25.

The demonstrator is complete and ready for its Nov. 28 launch. It has a weight of 3.04 metric tons and launch thrust of 7.92 metric tons.

The company has begun making the first Hapith V. That 20-m (66-ft.) design has a weight of 35 metric tons and launch thrust of 65 metric tons from five engines. The second stage has four engines and 8 metric tons of thrust; the third has one engine generating 1 metric tons of thrust. Payload to Sun-synchronous orbit is 350 kg.

The company’s launch site is at the southern end of Taiwan, facing the empty Pacific Ocean. With inhabited islands to the north and south, Taiwan is unsuitable for launches to Sun- synchronous orbit, so Tispace is looking at options in Scandinavia. Australia is also a possibility.

Rockets are to be moved to the Taiwanese launch site by truck and to the chosen foreign one by air.

Link[web.archive.org]
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Originally posted by tispace.com:

HAPITH V

is a cost-effective space launch system using cutting-edge, non-explosive hybrid rocket technologies. Our hybrid rocket engines are delivering class-I rocket engine performance that enables fast turnaround space launch services.

PAYLOAD

MICRO AND SMALL SATELLITES TO LOW EARTH ORBIT (LEO) AND SUN-SYNCHRONOUS ORBIT (SSO)

HAPITH V OVERVIEW

MAX. LEO PAYLOAD MASS
390 KG

MAX. SSO PAYLOAD MASS
350 KG

ALTITUDE
600 – 700 KM

HEIGHT
20 M

DIAMETER
2.2 M

STAGES
3

UPPER STAGE

single hybrid rocket engine with gimbaled thrust vector control (TVC) and a cold-gas reaction control system (RCS)

THRUST 10KN

SECOND STAGE

cluster of four hybrid rocket engines with gimbaled thrust vector control (TVC)

THRUST 80KN

FIRST STAGE

cluster of five hybrid rocket engines with liquid-injection vector control (LITVC)

THRUST 650KN

PAYLOAD

The payload fairing of Hapith V is constructed by using lightweight composite honeycomb sandwich structure with ample thermal and environmental protections.

MATERIALS

Hapith V is designed to be constructed using mainly lightweight high strength carbon composite flight structure.

AVIONICS

TiSPACE avionics and GNC flight control subsystem are developed simultaneously such that their performance can be checked and verified through real time simulations with the enhancement of a high precision rate table testing platform.

LELIEN

LELIEN engine is designed based on a high-efficiency N2O/SBR hybrid rocket technology with specially formulated high density and high energy SBR solid grain and N2O injection scheme that gives our propulsion system close to ideal overall thrust performance.

HAPITH V SLV[archive.ph]
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Link[web.archive.org]
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Well, after Japan's Epsilon rocket, this makes another one with dual-use civilian-military, latent ICBM capabilities!

Which begs the question, of which nation will be targeted by the Republic of China with the tacit accord of the U.S.A., at more than 5'000 km distance? Probably the same as Japan.

Beijing being only separated from Taipei by a ~1'725 km distance, already within range by the ROC IRBMs and LACMs, there is only a few possible capitals beyond the 5'000 km ICBM mark range: probably Moscow!

Moreover, the absence of strong reaction from Beijing to the announcement of the Hapith-V project confirms that the PRC is not under threat by Taipei's new ICBM capability.

ICBM range from ROC[archive.ph]
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After China, Japan, North Korea, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of China will be the 5th military power with such capability in East Asia.

Making proliferation of WMD in 2021 faster than the spread of COVID-19!


Following the Japanese strategy of developing dual-use civilian-military space technologies, the Republic of China (ROC) has now disclosed its first hybrid propellants SLV/ICBM.

Similar in dimension and performance to the Japanese solid propellant Epsilon SLV/ICBM, the Hapit-V SSO orbit space launcher will provide the ROC with new strategic capabilities - enough to put Moscow within striking range!

CGI model of Hapit-V SSO SLV[web.archive.org]
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Twitter link[web.archive.org]
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Originally posted by ltn.com.tw:

Maiden launch scheduled for 27th December 2019

2019-12-26 08:58:31

The promotion of the space technology companies in Taitung ’s space exploration rocket has attracted attention from all walks of life. However, due to local concerns, the launch operation will be suspended and a briefing will be held today. The relevant person said today that the promotion company hopes to obtain local public opinion supports and strives to launch as scheduled tomorrow (27th). If the planned launch operation can be carried out according to the original plan, the projectiles of the space exploration rocket will fall into the waters 30 kilometers east of Green Island and Lanyu.

Relevant sources also said that if it is difficult to successfully launch on the 27th of this month, the next launch date will be on January 22 next year.

The Maritime Safety Administration, the Agriculture Commission, the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, the Port Bureau and the military have issued sea and air area control notifications in accordance with previous plans, calling on vessels and aircraft in various areas to avoid the controlled sea and air areas launched by rockets.

The promotion company had previously stated that once the space exploration rocket was launched, the entire rocket had a range of about 10 minutes and fell after reaching 200 kilometers. However, according to the application file of the promotion company, the maximum ballistic altitude of the space exploration rocket was 300 kilometers. A space exploration rocket can reach a higher altitude. If the rocket launches smoothly, the small satellites carried next time will be able to be sent directly into space orbit.

In order to perform the launch mission of the National Space Center's multi-purpose sounding rocket scientific experiment, the promoted space technology company once invited the relevant units to coordinate the sea and airspace control operation. According to the launching notice (sea and airspace) issued by the Coastal Inspection Agency and the Agricultural Committee Control sheet), from 6 am to 7 am on the 27th, it will be launched at the Taidong Nantian launch base (台東南田發射基地). The rocket's projectiles are expected to fall in the waters 30 kilometers away from the middle of Green Island and Lanyu.

NOTAM issued for 27 December 2019 or 22 January 2020, 0600-0700 AM [archive.ph]
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Hapith-I and Hapith-V SLV[archive.is]
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Hapith-I (「飛鼠一號」: Flying Squirrel) moved to the launchpad: notice the four gimballed hybrid main engines.[archive.ph]
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Hapith I (「飛鼠一號」: Flying Squirrel) launch vehicle is standing on the launch pad and getting ready for its maiden flight. 24 December 2019 [archive.is]
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Hapith I (「飛鼠一號」: Flying Squirrel) launch vehicle is standing on the launch pad and getting ready for its maiden flight. 24 December 2019[archive.ph]
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Hapith I (「飛鼠一號」: Flying Squirrel) launch vehicle is standing on the launch pad and getting ready for its maiden flight. 24 December 2019[archive.ph]
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Link[web.archive.org]
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Originally posted by udn.com:

Abnormal guidance system's signal: 2nd Hapith-I launch attempt scheduled for 18th February 2020

2020/02/13 08:23

TiSpace Corporation, Taiwan ’s first private company’s self-made sounding rocket 'Flying Squirel One' was originally expected to test fire at 6 am in Nantian, Daren Township, Taitung County.

The launch procedure was already started when at the last minute, an abnormal system signal was detected. Finally, the launch procedure was aborted, and the NO2 fuel was released into the air, disappointing hundreds of people who came to watch the rocket maiden test launch.

The company also stated that it would try to launch the rocket again after finding the cause.

TiSpace company built a base to launch a test rocket around the Nantian tribe. The news was disclosed last December. The tribe residents expressed their dissatisfaction, strongly questioning the legitimacy, and worried about the danger posed to the tribe's security and environmental ecology. Later, the central government came forward to solve the decree, and Tispace has also been intensively communicating with localities for more than a month.

There was a heavy rain on the scene this morning, but it did not quench the enthusiasm of hundreds of people. Everyone made a special trip to get ready to enjoy the wonderful picture of the first domestic private company's test rocket launch, but they were disappointed.

Taking pictures of the rocket outside, Tispace company said that it is expected to conduct another test launch in the early morning of February 18th.

Link[archive.ph]
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The weather was of the worse, with storm all the previous night. Then high altitude wind would even burst weather balloons released at dawn by the meteorologists.

Finally the decision was taken to go ahead with the maiden launch of Hapith-I sounding rocket.

After ignition, an abnormal signal was detected, and decision to cutoff the engines at ~20 seconds, aborting the takeoff.

飛鼠一號(Hapith I)火箭 南田發射場試點火 Ignition HapithI rocket in Nantian space port. Feb 13, 2020

天公不作美! 「飛鼠一號」發射取消 | 華視新聞 20200213

HAPITH-I SLV Second Launch Attempt

Originally posted by technews.tw:

An internal failure occurred during the ignition of Hapit-I, which caused a fire but did not explode

September 17, 2021

The Hapit-I rocket, which was shipped to Australia for launch operations because Taiwan’s laws and regulations did not allow it, still has twists and turns. On September 16, Taiwan time, the twice-delayed Hapit-1 accidentally caught fire during the launch and ignition phase. Thick smoke was emitted and the local fire brigade was dispatched for rescue. However, the rocket did not explode. Experts pointed out that this can be attributed to the characteristics of the hybrid rocket.

Hapith I is a two-section hybrid rocket developed by Taiwanese private rocket manufacturer TiSPACE. It is 10 meters long, 1.5 meters in diameter, has a thrust of 8 tons at the first section, and has a range of up to 270. Kilometers, taking the current world record of 120 kilometers for the flying height of a hybrid rocket, if the Flying Squirrel 1 is successfully tested, it will be able to set the highest flight record of a hybrid rocket.

However, the Hapit-I, which was originally to be launched in Taitung at the end of 2019, was disturbed by local villagers’ protests and land disputes. After more than a year, it was decided to ship to Australia for launch. On August 23 this year, it was confirmed that the Hapit-I would pass through Australia. The Southern Launcher, a space company, took off from the Whalers Way launch site on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.

The flight test was originally scheduled to start on September 11th, Taiwan time, and was postponed due to strong local winds. On September 16th, Taiwan time, the Hapit-I finally ignited and was ready to take off, but unfortunately, the rocket experienced an internal failure during the ignition phase and caused a fire. The launch failure prompted the local The fire department called and sent about 10 firefighters to the scene.

The "ABC" report pointed out that local residents said they heard a loud noise at the moment, followed by white smoke and steam.

In fact, even if the Hapit-I is moved to Australia for launch, it seems to be facing protests from local residents. Some environmentalists pointed out that there is a whale breeding ground near the Gulf of Wales launch site. Some residents even pointed out that they were very dissatisfied with the rocket launch in an interview with ABC: "I think that if you want to develop, you can go to the UK, where it has been industrialized, but they only want this place to maintain its natural appearance"; but there are also residents who welcome the rocket launch that can bring further development to the local area, such as tourism.

Link[web.archive.org]
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HAPITH-I SLV Third Launch Attempt

Before end of 2021

TBD







To complete the ICBM program the ROK will need to achieve the following milestones:

• Test a reentry vehicle
  
• Test a nuclear warhead
  
• Test MIRVs
  
• Test a Post Boost Vehicle (PBV). This will be done under the cover of the ROCKLEP's lunar mission as an orbiter then in the phase 2 as a lunar lander, the same way as India, Israel, Turkey, the Republic of Korea and Iran do.

According to the old WMD proliferators' playbook, following Japan, India and Israel, Turkey Iran and South Korea, the latest Asian candidate, the Republic of China (ROC) will also test dual-use civilian-military technologies of Post Boost Vehicle an essential component of its nuclear deterrent, under the guise of a lunar orbiter in July 20XX!

Originally posted by cna.com.tw:

2019-2028 Roadmap

The Republic Of China (Taiwan) Lunar Exploration Program

Space Development Phase 3

Latest update: 2019/02/13 14:56

The Phase 3 plan for space exploration will last for 10 years. From 2019 to 2028, the investment will be NT$25.1 billion.

The space exploration project for Space Development Phase 3 will also develop at least one lunar orbiter.

Lin Junliang said that the First Phase must carry out the design and research of the Lunar Orbiter, and the Second Phase is the Lunar Lander. Since the orbiting the moon is different from the earth low-orbiting satellite, their is needs to have the sound ground communication technology, radiation resistance and orbital manoeuvering foundations.

Roadmap of the 2019-2028 National Space Organization[web.archive.org]
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Link[web.archive.org]
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