Australia to launch locally-made 'next-gen' hybrid rocket in 2022

Australia is expected to launch its "next-generation" hybrid rocket that will take satellites into low Earth orbit in 2022.

A new announcement out of the University of Queensland has revealed that Australia is currently moving toward launching its own domestically-made hybrid rocket. This hybrid rocket is expected to take satellites into low Earth orbit, and will be completely constructed of components made in Australia - meaning that Australia won't have to out-source components from a different country.

University of Queensland's Dr. Ingo Jahn said, "Rather than buying products from overseas, the rockets and components will be manufactured in Australia, and this is an essential step towards developing a space launch vehicle industry in Queensland with many expected flow-down benefits to our manufacturing industries". The teams focus is developing and validating fuel systems, which according to Jahn, is "one of the most complex engineering challenges".

Jahn also said, "They are located at the intersection of multiple systems; to stay light they have to be incredibly power dense, they must operate across wide temperature and pressure ranges and they are safety critical. Finding effective and safe engineering solutions to meet all these requirements, while remaining light weight is the challenge we have to overcome."

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