The German space agency DLR completed the first flight test of its Red Kite solid rocket motor that will power European sounding rockets.
Development of the Red Kite rocket motor began in 2019 as a joint project between DLR and Bayern-Chemie. Red Kite is a one-tonne class solid rocket motor that can be utilized in a one or two-stage configuration. The motor has a maximum thrust of 226 kN and a burn time of 12 seconds. It is capable of carrying payloads of between 200 and 600 kilograms to altitudes of up to 350 kilometres.
Testing of the Red Kite rocket motor began in early August with a pair of static fire tests being conducted at Esrange Space Center in Sweden. During the tests, the performance of the motor was studied at -20 and +50 degrees Celsius to ensure its reliability under a wide range of conditions.
The first successful test flight of a rocket equipped with a Red Kite motor took place on 13 November from the Andøya Space Center in Norway. The rocket rose to an altitude of 71 kilometres before splashing down in the Atlantic approximately 60 kilometres downrange of the launch site. During the flight, the 6.6-metre, 1.5-tonne launch vehicle reached a maximum speed of 5,150 kilometres per hour.
“We are extremely pleased about our successful collaboration with Bayern-Chemie,” said DLR divisional board member for space Anke Pagels-Kerp. “With Red Kite, the international research community now has a powerful new rocket motor for high-altitude research missions.”
In addition to testing the Red Kite motor in flight for the first time, the Single Stage Operational Assessment of Red Kite (SOAR) mission also carried scientific payloads for the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology and the DLR Institute of Structures and Design.
With the rocket motor now ready to enter service, the first operational flight of a rocket equipped with a Red Kite motor is expected to take place in February 2024 from the Esrange Space Center.
