1Cat/4

THRUST: 50 - 80 lbf

FUEL: isopropanol, acetone, Brush Cleaner, Kerosene (Caused Explosion)

OXIDIZER: NITROUS OXIDE

bURN TIME: 3 ± 2 SECONDS

1Cat/4 is the simplest liquid motor we have built. In its intial configuration, it had a heatsink combustion chamber retained onto the impinging-doublet injector with a snap ring, and two pneumatic Half Cat valves which are triggered by a pyrodex pellet melting open the pilot line. The pyrodex pellet is located inside the chamber and also serves as the igniter.

A heatsink combustion chamber is one which is made of a large, relatively high-mass piece of metal with good thermal conductivity. Rather than regenerative or ablative cooling protecting the chamber from heat, the metal absorbs it and increases in temperature. Heatsinks are best used with short burn times and low flame temperatures. While not usable for as long a time nor is as extreme conditions as regenerative or ablative systems, this type of chamber is extremely simple to produce.

Tests & Launches

Launches 1-8: Heatsink Chamber

Launches 9-10: Regen Chamber

No static test has been conducted on 1Cat/4, since its purpose is to demonstrate rapid and repeatable bipropellant flights as well as flexibility in propellant combinations. The vehicle has undergone numerous repairs, reconfigurations, and hardware changes as we experiment with new designs and technologies.