LEROS
LEROSis a family of chemicalrocket enginesmanufactured byNammo[1]atWestcott, Buckinghamshire,United Kingdom.LEROS engines have been used as primaryapogee enginesfor telecommunications satellites such as theLockheed MartinA2100[2]as well as deep space missions such asJuno.[3]
The family of engines derives from the LEROS 1 which was developed and qualified in the 1990s byRoyal Ordnance.The in-space propulsion business was acquired byBritish Aerospace,then had a sequence of owners including American Pacific Corporation,Moog[4](from 2012) and Nammo (2017). The LEROS engines are made ofniobium alloy,which is traditionally used forliquid rocketengines such as theattitude controlthrusters of theApollo Lunar Module.As of 2011, more than 70 LEROS 1 series engines had been flown successfully.[5]
| Engine | Propellant | Thrust | Isp | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEROS 1c[6] | Hydrazine/MON | 460N | 325 | |
| LEROS 1b | Hydrazine / MON | 635 N | 318 | |
| LEROS 2b | MMH/ MON | 407 N | 318 | |
| LEROS 4 | MMH / MON | 1100 N | 323[7] | Developed c. 2014 forEuropean Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Robotic Exploration Program[8] |
Uses
[edit]
LEROS engines have been used on a number ofNASAand other space agency missions:
- NEAR Shoemaker(Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous)
- Mars Global Surveyor[9]
- MESSENGER[10]
- Juno
- JCSAT-5A[11]
- Sirius 4
- Nimiq 1[12]
- SBIRSGEO 1andGEO 2[13][14]
- Intelsat 33e[15]
- Beresheetlunar lander[16]
There have been helium check valve problems onJunoleading to postponed maneuvers, and a failure after the first burn onIntelsat 33erequiring backup low-thrust jets to be used to bring the satellite to its intended orbit.[15]
References
[edit]
- ^"Nammo acquires Moog's European In-Space Propulsion businesses".MyNewsDesk. 12 June 2017.Retrieved28 June2018.
- ^Spaceflight Now - LEROS 1c First Firing
- ^Amos, Jonathan (4 September 2012)."Juno Jupiter probe gets British boost".BBC News.Retrieved5 July2016.
- ^"Moog Space & Defence Group".moog.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 22 February 2017.
- ^Corporation, American Pacific."LEROS Engine Propels the Juno Spacecraft on Its Historic Voyage to Jupiter".prnewswire.com.Retrieved28 June2018.
- ^Moog ISP Apogee/Upper Stage ThrustersArchived2014-11-29 at theWayback Machine
- ^Naicker, Lolan (May 2014)."An overview of development model testing for the LEROS 4 High Thrust Apogee Engine"(PDF).lolannaicker.com.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 16 January 2022.Retrieved28 June2018.
- ^Werner, Debra (15 July 2013)."Moog Sees Higher-thrust Liquid Propellant Engine as Right Fit for Mars Missions".SpaceNews.Retrieved5 July2016.
- ^Astronautix - Mars Global SurveyorArchived2009-08-10 at theWayback Machine
- ^Spacenews feed - NASA Mercury Messenger Orbit Insertion
- ^Spaceflight101 - Ariane 5 Flight VA206Archived2013-02-12 at theWayback Machine
- ^Astronautix - A2100 PlatformArchived2013-07-19 at theWayback Machine
- ^Skyrocket - SBIRS Geo 1
- ^Spaceflight101 - Atlas V SBIRS Geo 2 LaunchArchived2014-09-13 at theWayback Machine
- ^abStephen Clark (30 January 2017)."Intelsat satellite in service after overcoming engine trouble".Spaceflight Now.Retrieved31 January2017.
- ^Jonathan Amos (21 February 2019)."Israel's Beresheet robot sets its sights on the Moon".BBC News.
Spacecraft engines and motors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Liquid fuelengines |  | |
| Solid propellant motors | ||
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