Forres-based Orbex rocket launching company patents coaxial tanking technology
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A LOCAL space rocket launching company has secured a patent for its greener technology.
Forres Enterprise Park-based orbital launch services company Orbex now enjoys international protection for its coaxial tanking technology.
Chief technology officer at Orbex, Jonas Bjarnø, confirmed the newly-patented tank structure allows for a uniquely low mass rocket that is around 30 percent lighter than similarly sized launchers, while offering greater power, higher performance, and better economy.
He said: “We have created something that is completely unique.
“We set out to deliver a uniquely innovative, efficient and sustainable spaceflight solution, exactly what we are now building.”
Small rockets which copy the traditional stacked tank architecture of larger rockets are less efficient and cost-effective because they carry much less fuel per unit of ‘dry mass’.
The Orbex team answered this by nesting the fuel tank within an outer tank of liquid oxygen. This arrangement has unique synergies with Orbex’s choice of bio-propane as a rocket fuel because it does not freeze solid when chilled to the same temperature as liquid oxygen.
The coaxial tank structure removes surplus components and sub-systems such as insulation, extra bulkheads, external pipework, heavy tank walls and thermal conditioning equipment.
The patent protects the technology across more than a dozen countries.
