Orion Propulsion Puts On Impressive Show At Las Cruces Spaceport

John Bossard knows rockets engines. In fact, he knows them so well he can successfully explain the concepts of a hybrid rocket engine and regenerative cooling to an Aero-News correspondent in two sentences, and have the knowledge stick on the first try.

That would explain why this rocket scientist is the Chief Technical Offer of Orion Propulsion, a small woman-owned company whose brochure says "What really lights our fire is rockets, propulsion and testing."

He's also quite clear on the direction he thinks space exploration should head in the future. "I want NASA to be as relevant to space programs as the FDA is relevant to my steak dinner," said Bossard.

What do they describe as a "small company"? The entire staff numbers twelve souls, but this little company based out of Madison, Alabama sure made a lot of noise at the XPrize Cup. They had no less than three technology demonstrators operating at the show, the smallest of which was a demonstrator the size of a suitcase.

Opening the "demo" case reveals an engine frame containing a plexiglass tube, nitrous oxide controls and a simple igniter made of steel wool wrapped around two wires and inserted into the tube. Running a current through the wires makes the steel wool glow white hot, which melts the plexiglass. Open the NOS valve, and voila, you have a rocket engine! Please don't try this at home, boys and girls.

Stored inside their portable trailer/workshop I found a bicycle that seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary, until I noticed the tank, pipes and frame behind the seat. Now, keep in mind that Orion does not build vehicles -- they specialize in rocket engine design, development and fabrication. Nevertheless, you have to have demos, so why not make them fun?

The two-wheeler is in fact the Rocket Bike. It does 0-55 mph in no time flat, and is powered by a very high tech fuel... roofing tar. Yes, ANN confirmed that the bike is powered by the same stuff it usually rolls over when moving. Add an igniter and more NOS, and off you go, triple-underwear and all.

The third demonstrator was... get this... a Chevy truck carrying a rip-roaring rocket engine in the cargo bed! It's so radical they had to chain it down so it wouldn't try to emulate the Rocket Racing League LearJet and barrel down the runway. As it turns out, that's the next step. Texas freeways will never be the same again.

On the serious side of the equation, Orion Propulsion has developed an extensive portfolio,  designing and fabricating engines from 5 to 300,000 lbf of thrust. They will also build data acquisition and control systems, test stands and ground support equipment for you if that's what you need.

Need cold flow testing? Check. Got a requirement for a reliable igniter for that bi-propellant engine, or a vectored reaction engine on a canfeld joint with torque motors to point the business end in any direction required? They can take care of that too.

They're already working on their show for next year's XPrize Cup. Bring ear protectors.

FMI: www.orionpropulsion.com