Patent — available for licensing
Fast-Acting, Deep-Throttling Hybrid Motor
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and collaborators at Utah State University have developed a prototype for a highly efficient hybrid motor designed for spacecraft. This innovative motor addresses the need for both substantial propulsion during orbital maneuvers and precise control for attitude adjustments and stability. Hybrid motors offer a variety of advantages over traditional liquid and solid propulsion systems. Hybrid motor systems are significantly simpler than a liquid engine system, and offer safety gains and possible throttling capabilities compared to a solid rocket motor. However, the practical implementation of rapid throttling has presented significant challenges in the industry. The NASA motor tackles this hurdle by leveraging a digital valve technology, effectively reducing full-scale throttle time to one second or less and enabling the potential for rapid restart and short pulses of thrust. This hybrid motor technology holds promise for the future of space exploration and offers potential solutions for improved motors on low earth orbit spacecraft (commercial or government) as well as sounding rockets, missiles, and other systems.