Rocket Motor Testing

Solid and Liquid Propellant Rocket Motor Test Bed

Horizontal test facility for Solid Propellant Rocket Motors up to 500kN thrust.

The test bed is highly customisable and motors with smaller or greater diameter than 580mm are possible on request. Temperated test environment all year around.

  • Facilities for test firing of solid and liquid rocket motors, vertical or horizontal position
  • Facilities for tests of reusable sounding rocket motors, reusable first stages, tethered tests, jump-tests and controlled landings of reusable sounding rockets, boosters and first stage engines
  • Facilities for tests of exploration vehicles and systems
  • Sounding rocket test launches
  • Customized installations
  • Consumables
  • Campaign operation services; campaign operation project management, range-, flight- and ground safety, test, launch and flight operations, recovery
  • Ground facilities
  • Post-test activities

The tesbed facility provides:
- 220V AC
- Ethernet fibre connection
- Water
- Deflector ramp
- Rails & dolly for custom installations
- Pressure plate
- Safety systems and firing lines
- 30m^3 tanks for fuel and oxidisers
- Vacuum insulated piping for long duration horizontal testing

Generally several types of tests can be supported:
- Engine and stage development and tests
- Stage development and tests
- Exploration vehicle and system tests
- Reusability testing for launchers
- Sounding rocket test launch

The facilities are located on SSC Esrange and provide well sized and temperated preparation areas, offices, equipped biological laboratories and workshops as well as hotel and restaurant on site.

Specimen length [mm]: 7000.0
Specimen width/dia [mm]: 580.0
Data acquisition: Thrust Measurement up to 500kN at 1-10kHz
Project heritage: SSC has performed several static firings on sounding rocket motors since 2017.
Keywords: Thrust; measurement; qualification; Static firing; solid and liquid rocket propellant testing, test bed