This paper summarises Surrey Space Centre (SSC) research of a non-conventional hybrid rocket that is designed specifically for the orbit transfer of small spacecraft. The rocket design employs a short, cylindrical combustion chamber with a tangential oxidiser injection scheme. The oxidiser injection induces a vortex flow within the combustion chamber toward a centrally mounted conventional rocket nozzle. The vortex flow serves to enhance mixing of the fuel and oxidiser, while providing effective film cooling on the combustion chamber wall. Similar to classical hybrid rockets, the Vortex Flow Pancake Hybrid (VFP) offers inherent safety, simplicity of operations, environmentally friendly propellant combinations, and the potential for significantly reduced propulsion system costs. However, the VFP geometry is designed to be integrated with spacecraft rather than launch vehicles, hence, the favourable characteristics of the hybrid rocket are greatly enhanced for spacecraft applications. The paper will provide an overview of the new hybrid configuration to include a design description, advantages of the configuration, and results obtained from a proof-of-concept experimental phase. In addition, hypothetical implementation of the new engine and preliminary experimentation with high test peroxide and nitrous oxide are addressed.
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