Zero is a small satellite launch vehicle powered by liquid biomethane (LBM).
Interstellar Technologies, a Japanese space startup, has successfully conducted a vital test of its Cosmos engine at the Hokkaido Spaceport for the Zero rocket. This innovative rocket utilises methane gas derived from cow dung as its fuel, representing a noteworthy advancement in the quest to create the world's inaugural orbital rocket powered by this abundant and sustainable resource.
The static fire test successfully ignited the engine for 10 seconds, generating a powerful blue flame. This achievement follows the European Space Agency's own development of a cow dung-fueled rocket engine, but Interstellar Technologies is the first private company to do so.
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The engine test demonstrated the viability of biomethane as a clean and readily available rocket fuel source.
"The combustion chamber of ZERO, designed in-house, adopts the pintle injector used in SpaceX's engines. Although pintle injectors are generally known to have limited performance, research and development efforts with Tokyo University and JAXA Space Innovation through partnership and co-creation have led to design improvements that achieve high combustion performance. As a result, the number of components has been reduced to one-tenth of conventional engines, fundamentally lowering the manufacturing costs of a rocket engine, estimated to constitute half of the overall expenses," Interstellar said in a December 7 statement.
As per the company's release, the ongoing series of static fire tests is poised to enhance the progress in developing and manufacturing a 130kN-class operational model.
This advancement is informed by the insights gained from the design, manufacturing, and testing phases of a smaller 60kN-class subscale model.