Hybrid Sounding Rocket Program (HYSR)

Lockheed Martin-Michoud Lockheed Martin-Michoud is developing a hybrid sounding rocket (HYSR) program with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). A Space Act Agreement between NASA MSFC and Lockheed Martin-Michoud Operations enabled collaboration on this new technology.

Development ground testing (hardware qualification) occurred at NASA Stennis Space Center between 2000 and 2001. This testing concluded with a successful demonstration flight of a prototype sounding rocket from NASA WFF in December 2002. The flight demonstration vehicle was a 17.4-meter (57-foot) long sounding rocket using liquid oxygen and solid fuel, a rubberized compound known as hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB). The rocket generated 27,216 kilograms (60,000 pounds) of thrust during a burn time of 31 seconds, and reached an altitude of approximately 43 miles.

In 2004, there was further testing of the HYSR motors at NASA Stennis Space Center. The tests demonstrated the structural integrity of Lockheed Martin-Michoud's fuel-grain design and are facili-tating development of advanced state-of-the-art hybrid rocket motors.