Propulsion
DTM Technologies
The ongoing activities in the propulsion field are addressed mainly towards the following products:
- Small guided missiles, for low altitude application, very economical, to be produced quickly in medium-series
- Non-guided (ballistic) sounding rockets, for microgravity scientific experiments. Typically these experiments require 6 minutes of microgravity (< 10-5 g) with a payload mass in the range of 30-45 lb
- Rocket motors with 200,000 vacuum thrust lbf., extremely reliable, throttleable, capable to be stopped and re-ignited in flight, for several typologies of spacecrafts
Characteristics of the DTM program
Some of the typical characteristics of the motors under development in DTM are:
- Hybrid propulsion, with an original layout solution for the oxidizer pressurization, to maximize the combustion efficiency
- Fully monolithic structure (meaning that all the structural parts are co-cured in just one autoclave cycle, thanks to a patented DTM composite technology) for oxidizer high-pressure vessel and rocket casing, to maximize reliability and efficiency and to reduce mass, production time and cost
- Toughened graphite nozzles, including Thrust Vector Control (TVC) capabilities, to maximize operating temperature and mechanical strength
Propulsion test carried out at DTM laboratory
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