Battery-Powered Rocket Aims to Open Space for Business

Apr-23-15 The Rocket Lab company plans to increase the number of operational satellites in orbit by sending them into space with battery-powered rockets.

Current liquid rocket engines are expensive, complex and bulky. As an alternative, the New Zealand-based Rocket Lab developed a simpler liquid rocket they are calling the Rutherford to use on their Electron launch vehicle. Instead of the gas-powered pump used in today's engines to send propellants to the combustion chamber, the Rutherford boasts a brushless DC motor powered by lithium polymer batteries and will cost about a tenth of conventional boosters.

The Rutherford is also the first oxygen/hydrocarbon engine with all the major components made by 3D printing, and its dry weight is about the same as a Mini Cooper. According to the team, installing the Rutherford on the Electron launch booster will allow payloads to be launched into orbit using less fuel than a 747 flight from Los Angeles to New York.

More Info about this Invention:

[GIZMAG.COM]
[ROCKETLABUSA.COM]

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