Curie is a
liquid-propellant rocket engine
A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive Jet (fluid), jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, i ...
designed and manufactured by
Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab is a public American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider, with a New Zealand subsidiary. The company operates lightweight Electron orbital rockets, which provide dedicated launches for small satellites. Rocket Lab al ...
. A
monopropellant
Monopropellants are propellants consisting of chemicals that release energy through exothermic chemical decomposition. The molecular bond energy of the monopropellant is released usually through use of a catalyst. This can be contrasted with bipro ...
is used for the propulsion of the third stage/kicker stage of the
Electron
The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family,
and are generally thought to be elementary partic ...
rocket, as well as the
Photon
A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are Massless particle, massless ...
.
The composition of the propellant is a trade secret.
The kicker stage rocket produces of thrust, and has a
specific impulse
Specific impulse (usually abbreviated ) is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine (a rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel) creates thrust. For engines whose reaction mass is only the fuel they carry, specific impulse is ...
of approximately 320 seconds.
It was first used on 21 January 2018 during Rocket Lab's first successful orbital rocket launch, and helped to boost two small
CubeSats
A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...
, the weather and ship-tracking Lemur-2 CubeSats built by the company
Spire Global
Spire Global, Inc. is a space-to-cloud data and analytics company that specializes in the tracking of global data sets powered by a large constellation of nanosatellites, such as the tracking of maritime, aviation and weather patterns.
The comp ...
, into a circular orbit.
Description
The Curie engine, named after
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
scientist
Marie Skłodowska–Curie, is a small liquid-propellant rocket engine designed to release "small satellites from the constricting parameters of primary payload orbits and enables them to fully reach their potential, including faster deployment of small satellite constellations and better positioning for Earth imaging".
It is 3D printed.
Monopropellant version
The Electron third stage, which is powered by Curie, is equipped with its own reaction control system, avionics, power, and communication systems.
During the first flight in January 2018 where Curie was tested, the Electron
third stage
''Third Stage'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Boston, released on September 26, 1986, on MCA Records. It was recorded at Boston co-founder Tom Scholz's Hideaway Studio over a long, strained, six-year period "between floods ...
—also referred to as the "kick stage"—coasted for roughly 40 minutes after successfully deploying an Earth-imaging Dove satellite built by the company
Planet Labs, then ignited the Curie engine on its first in-space test.
After this test, the stage was left in orbit. However, Rocket Lab stated that future launches would have the stage deorbited after releasing their payloads to prevent addition to
space debris.
While Rocket Lab is not known to have specified the
monopropellant
Monopropellants are propellants consisting of chemicals that release energy through exothermic chemical decomposition. The molecular bond energy of the monopropellant is released usually through use of a catalyst. This can be contrasted with bipro ...
used by Curie, in 2012 Rocket Lab demonstrated the use of a non-toxic
Viscous Liquid Monopropellant (VLM) that it had developed.
Bi-propellant version
In August 2020 Rocket Lab indicated that the kick stage uses an unspecified liquid
bi-propellant fuel for the Curie engine.
HyperCurie
Rocket Lab has also developed a version of the Curie engine with more thrust called HyperCurie.
The engine was used on the
CAPSTONE
CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) is a lunar orbiter that will test and verify the calculated orbital stability planned for the Lunar Gateway space station. The spacecraft is a 12- ...
lunar mission that launched in June 2022.
See also
*
Rutherford (rocket engine)
*
Archimedes (rocket engine)
Archimedes is a liquid-fuel rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and liquid methane in an oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle. It is designed by aerospace company Rocket Lab for its Neutron rocket.
History
Archimedes was presented on December ...
References
{{Rocket Lab
Monopropellant rocket engines
Curie