Polish suborbital launch services company SpaceForest has successfully test-fired an enhanced version of its SF-1000 hybrid rocket engine. The project was supported by the European Space Agency through its Boost! Programme.
Founded in 2011, SpaceForest is developing PERUN, an 11.5-metre suborbital rocket designed to carry 50-kilogram payloads to altitudes of up to 150 kilometres. To date, the company has launched a pair of test flights. The flights, which were conducted in 2023, both suffered anomalies that forced them to be aborted before the rocket reached the 50-kilometre target.
In October 2024, ESA awarded SpaceForest €2.4 million in co-funding through its Boost! programme, which aims to support the development of critical space transportation technologies. The funding was allocated for upgrades to the SF-1000 combustion chamber, the manufacture of engines for testing and a PERUN demonstration flight, as well as the design of a mobile refuelling station, ground support station, and tracking and communication system.
According to a 15 January SpaceForest announcement, toward the end of 2024, the company completed the first hot-fire test of the enhanced SF-1000 hybrid rocket engine. The engine burns modified paraffin and is capable of generating 30 kN of thrust. The 25-second test was conducted at the Ustka testing range. The company revealed that it had collected crucial data from the test, which would pave the way for additional refinements and serial production of the engines. Additional tests are expected to take place in the coming months.
While the SpaceForest news release didn’t include an indication of when the next PERUN flight would occur, in a response to a comment on LinkedIn, the company stated that “it will be soon!”
