Maine, USA-based rocket developer bluShift has performed the first full-scale test of its hybrid, biofuel rocket engine.
As shown in the video above, the test of the Modular Adaptable Rocket Engine for Vehicle Launch (MAREVL 2.0) fired the engine at partial power for five seconds. Future tests will feature full-power, full-duration burns of approximately 90 seconds.
MAREVL 2.0 is a hybrid rocket engine that burns non-toxic, carbon-neutral, bio-derived solid fuel.
The purpose of this test was to achieve ignition and stable flow throughout the engine, and to gather initial engine performance data. According to bluShift the test was all-nominal, and flow stability was “excellent”.
BluShift was founded in 2014 and with funding from NASA and theMaine Technology Institute has conducted more than two hundred engine tests. The company flew its Stardust technology demonstration mission in January 2021.
bliShift expects to have completed static fire tests and use MAREVL 2.0 with its Starless Rogue launch vehicle for suborbital flight testing in late 2022.
