Executor is a

rocket engine A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accordanc ...

developed by ARCA for use on its Haas rocket series and on

IAR 111 The IAR-111 Excelsior is a supersonic mothership project, designed by ARCA Space Corporation, intended to transport a rocket payload up to and for developing space tourism related technologies. The aircraft is to be constructed almost entirely f ...

Excelsior supersonic airplane. Executor uses

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

http://spacefellowship.com/news/art29703/arca-has-completed-the-first-executor-rocket-engine.html and

liquid oxygen Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an applica ...

as propellants in a gas-generator power cycle. The injector of Executor is of the

pintle A pintle is a pin or bolt, usually inserted into a gudgeon, which is used as part of a pivot or hinge. Other applications include pintle and lunette ring for towing, and pintle pins securing casters in furniture. Use Pintle/gudgeon sets have ma ...

type that was first used in the Apollo Program for the lunar module landing engine. Propellants are fed via a single shaft, dual inducer-impeller

turbo-pump A turbopump is a propellant pump with two main components: a rotodynamic pump and a driving gas turbine, usually both mounted on the same shaft, or sometimes geared together. They were initially developed in Germany in the early 1940s. The purpos ...

. The turbine exhaust gases are used for attitude control of the Haas 2 rocket.

Variants

Two versions of the Executor are in development. The Executor engine for the first stage of the Haas 2B and Super Haas launchers and for the IAR-111 Excelsior airplane. The second variant is the Executor Plus engine that it uses a larger exhaust nozzle optimized for vacuum operation. The Executor Plus is used on the Haas 2 air-launched rocket and on the second stage of the Super Haas rocket.

Engine description

Executor, uses an inexpensive, expendable, ablatively cooled silica-phenolic and

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

composite nozzle, and produce 260 kN of thrust. The engine's ablative nozzle is designed for a 180-second run. The internal structure of the engine is made of silica-phenolic composite, while the outer structure is carbon-epoxy. The structure thickness varies from 10mm to 30mm. Beside the ablative cooling, the engine is using a kerosene film cooling method.

Engine development schedule

The Executor engine construction started at ARCA in December 2011. The first ground test was scheduled for the middle of 2012. Twelve engines were scheduled to be built in the first phase, until the first flight on board of the Haas 2 rocket in 2013. This first ground flight of the Haas 2 rocket will be for the Google Lunar X Prize Competition. After this flight, the engine will be integrated on the IAR 111 Excelsior supersonic airplane.

References

{{reflist Rocket engines using kerosene propellant ARCAspace Rocket engines using the gas-generator cycle

Variants

Engine description

Engine development schedule

See also

References