Small Aerospace Firm Achieves Big Milestone
TGV Rockets, Inc. announced last week it has successfully
completed critical test firings of a technologically advanced
throttleable rocket engine that the company believes will one day
be able to facilitate the shuttling of equipment and sensor
payloads on quick turn-around suborbital missions for the military
and to help dramatically reduce the cost of geo-spatial
imagery.
"These successful tests mean that we are one step closer to
realizing the core vision of affordable access to space from a
platform that is both mobile and reusable," said Pat Bahn, CEO of
TGV Rockets. "When we started the firm, our interest was very
broadly focused, but as we developed the ideas, we realized we
could replace a multi-billion dollar imaging satellite with a $10
million-class rocketship."
"We are very proud of our engineering team for their efforts and
persistence over many years in helping us reach this important
milestone," Bahn said. "Our ultimate goal is a transportable
spacecraft that can be launched and landed in remote locations to
provide quick-look low-cost imagery for both military and
commercial applications."
Bahn said that the Phase I testing, which was conducted over the
past two months at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in
Mississippi, focused on basic ignition and verification issues for
a new 30,000-lb.-class throttleable long-life rocket engine using
JP-8 fuel, which is the military version of commercial jet
fuel.
TGV tells ANN the tests demonstrated consistent ignition at
power levels of less than 20 percent and stable combustion
throughout the operating range. Phase II testing, currently
underway, is focused on gaining more detailed information on the
performance of the JP-8 fuel in the engine configuration. The work
is part of a larger space vehicle development program funded
through the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.
Company representatives state the significance of the tests lies
in the demonstrated feasibility of the kind of throttleable engine
technology that is critical to what the military describes as
Operationally Responsive Space Launch -- the ability to reach space
on short notice in an affordable and reusable way to respond to
real-time events and needs.
TGV notes its work in kerosene engines has placed it in a league
with such major aerospace organizations as Aerojet, Rocketdyne,
SpaceX and TRW-Northrop Grumman.
TGV Rockets was founded by Bahn in Maryland in 1997, and has its
main offices in Norman, OK.