Overview

The Phoenix Hybrid Sounding Rocket Program (HSRP) was started at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in 2010 within the School of Engineering’s Aerospace Systems Research Group (ASReG). The program started in the context of the South African government’s prioritisation of skills and resource development in space-related research. South Africa does not offer a sounding rocket launch service in support of the country’s or the African continent’s scientific endeavours who have to instead use expensive foreign sounding rocket service providers. The objectives of the program are:
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Research
The work done in the program includes:
- Hybrid Rocket Performance Simulator (HYROPS) code.
- Hybrid Rocket Performance Code (HRPC).
- Lab-scale and flight-scale hybrid rocket motor development and testing.
- Laboratory-scale test facility.
- Development of hybrid sounding rocket vehicles.
- Hybrid motor closed-loop throttling.
- Metallised fuel grain research.
- Filament-wound oxidiser tank development.
Rockets
The program has developed two flight vehicles to date with the third currently in development: