Posts Tagged ‘characterization’

New Blue

Monday, June 8th, 2009
54/1400 in Inspector Gadget, 3/09.

I’ve been working on a new blue formula as of late. Consider this the first “official release”. It was conceived in January, first fired in April, and first fired with data last weekend. It’s a smokeless variant of the typical blue I’ve flown in the past — 1% CuO, 2% Al — with the goal of getting something “Blue Thunder“-like. The story of the first flight is up in a blog post on OurPlanet.

First reactions from the flight were: (1) Not quite as fast as Blue Thunder, but certainly nice nonetheless, and (2) Oh my, look at that flame separation. Data from static testing showed that this burn was only at ~570 PSI, but the flame stands off nicely, even at low chamber pressures. It turns out to be about as fast as Kosdon fast, at least per the data. Here’s a typical curve from a Loki 38/480 firing:

Taken on 6/9/09

Delivered Isp is somewhere around 200 sec, so nothing too special — just another “knob” propellant to add to the fray. Formula and rate data after the jump.
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