RX (rocket family)

The RX rocket family (Roket Eksperimental) is a series of solid-fuel rockets developed by the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space. They are simply named by their diameter in millimeters; for example, the RX-250 has a diameter of 250 mm.[1]

Individual boosters

This family is composed of:[2]

Version RX-75 RX-100 RX-150 RX-250 RX-320 RX-420 RX-450 RX-550 RX-750 RX-980
Diameter 75 mm 110 mm 150 mm 250 mm 320 mm 420 mm 450 mm 550 mm 750 mm 980 mm
Length 1.90 m 5.30 m 4.74 m 6.11 m
Thrust[3] 53 kN 52 kN 94 kN 126 kN 255 kN
Burn time[3] 2.5 s 6.0 s 9.0 s 12.3 s 19.5 s 14 s
Specific impulse[3] 220 s 220 s 220 s 230 s 240 s
Propellant Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)
Propellant mass[3] 371 kg 425 kg 765 kg 1,519 kg
Total mass 30 kg 300 kg 532 kg
Payload 30–60 kg
Flights 8 3 1 1
Years active[4] 1987–2007 2008–2014 2009 2015
Apogee reached[4] 7 km 70–100 km 40–42 km 43 km 44 km
Range reached 11 km 129 km
Notes Characteristics in italics are design values, they have not been measured yet.

RX-250 was launched eight times from 1987 to 2007.[4] RX-320 was launched twice in 2008[4] and once again in 2014.[5] RX-420 flew just once in 2009; it is superseded by RX-450 which was launched on 13 May 2015[6] As of May 2016, the next booster version RX-550 is under construction; the larger ones are only on the drawing board.

Multi-stage rockets

Once the solid boosters are fully qualified, LAPAN plans to assemble several of them into multi-stage rockets called Roket Pengorbit Satelit or RPS. Four staging configurations have been retained so far:[7]

  • First stage: 3 x RX-420
  • Second stage: 1 x RX-420
  • Third stage: 1 x RX-420 (shorter)
  • Fourth stage: 1 x RX-320
  • Total height: 10.00 m
  • First stage: 1 x RX-550 + 2 x RX-420
  • Second stage: 1 x RX-550
  • Third stage: 1 x RX-320
  • Total height: 15.75 m
  • First stage: 1 x RX-450
  • Second stage: 1 x RX-450
  • Total height: 10.75 m
  • First stage: 1 x RX-450 + 2 x RX-320
  • Second stage: 1 x RX-450
  • Third stage: 1 x RX-320
  • Total height: 11.75 m

Earlier plans for the Pengorbitan-1 and -2 orbital launch vehicles (RPS-420s) were based on the RX-420 engine which was superseded by the RX-450. As of May 2016, integration work is proceeding on variants 3a and 3b, whose engines have all been successfully flight-qualified.

References

  1. "LAPAN and Indonesian Rocket Program | Indomil's Blog". Indomil.wordpress.com. 2009-05-24. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  2. "RPS-01". B14643.de. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "RX solid rocket motors". B14643.de. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "LAPAN Chronology". Astronautix.com. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  5. "Menuju Roket Pengorbit Satelit, RX-320 Sukses Mengudara dan RX-450 Terukur Karakteristiknya" [Towards the Satellite Orbiter Rocket, successful flight of RX-320 and performance measurements of RX-450] (Press release) (in Indonesian). LAPAN. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  6. "Tahapan Menuju Roket Pengorbit Satelit, Lapan Berhasil Luncurkan RX-450" [A step towards the Satellite Orbiter Rocket, LAPAN successfully launches RX-450] (Press release) (in Indonesian). LAPAN. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  7. "RPS-01 Staging". B14643.de. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
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