Starchaser Industries

Starchaser 5A / Thunderstar was a design of Starchaser Industries, Cheshire, England. The concept used a rocket powered vertical takeoff followed by a parachute descent to land. Starchaser Industries began life as an experimental rocket test program set up in 1992 by Steven Bennett. In 1996, his team successfully launched the 6.7 m tall Starchaser 2 rocket, which qualified as the largest privately-built rocket ever to flown in Europe. In November 2001, Starchaser successfully launched the 12-m tall solid-fuel Starchaser-4A (Nova-1), which included a one-person crew cabin. Full-scale rocket engine tests were conducted in April 2003. Starchaser successfully performed manned parafoil drop tests of the Nova capsule in July 2003. A launch of  the three-person Starchaser 5A / Thunderstar - X Prize vehicle was scheduled for 2004, but by mid-year there were still problems in engine fabrication.

By the summer of 2002 the original Starchaser 5B / Thunderbird rocket had grown into a two stage vehicle incorporating four strap on boosters. It became clear that this design was significantly overpowered for the purposes of winning the X-Prize. By early 2003 a simpler, smaller and more lightweight launch vehicle that would carry a more compact capsule was sketched out. The new capsule was dubbed Thunderbird and would be carried aloft using a modified Starchaser 5B launch vehicle. The Starchaser 5B / Thunderbird design will be reserved for space tourism and micro-satellite launch applications post X-Prize .

The Skybolt (Starchaser-E) is the precursor of the Starchaser-5B / Thunderbird. With the Skybolt will be tested the engines Churchill Mk.III in flight for the first time.

The Nova-2 (Starchaser 4B) is the successor of the Starchaser-4A (Nova-1). With the Nova-2  will be tested the new return capsule and Launch Escape System (LES). The first test-launch is expected to happen in 2009.

The Churchill Mk .III liquid propellant rocket engine was designed to deliver 15 tonnes of useable thrust for a burn time of up to 70 seconds. Two such engines would power the one stage Thunderstar / Starchaser-5A rocket. The two Churchill Mk.III bi-liquid Kerosene/LOX  engines would provide a total impulse of  23.544 MNs (s.l.), an average thrust of 294.25 kN, and boost the vehicle to a maximum speed of 1323.5 m/sec (Mach 4.25). The capsule and rocket would separate, the capsule reaching 158 km altitude, the booster 127 km.
The booster will incorporate the two propellant tanks, (Liquid Oxygen and Kerosene) with a third high pressure tank which will hold the inert gas used to push (feed) the propellant to the engines.
The first Churchill rocket engine, the Mk.I, underwent an extensive series of tests including five static firings and produced the specified 0.5 tonnes of thrust. The Mk.I provided validated data from which to build the larger Mk.II rocket engine. The Mk.II followed a similar series of seven static test firings which culminated in a long duration burn of 53 seconds. This engine performed perfectly and proved the reusability of the engine. The Mk.II developed 3-tonnes of thrust and provided crucial data for the design of the Mk.III rocket engine. All three engines were regeneratively cooled using the kerosene fuel, which first passes through the cooling jacket before being injected into the combustion chamber. The cooling is so efficient that following the long duration burn of the Mk.II, the engine was only mildly warm to the touch. The Mk.III injector plate has over 1000 small diameter, angled, laser-drilled injector holes arranged in a series of patterns.

Starchaser 5A (Thunderstar)
Height: 27.15 m (89 ft)
Diameter: 1,600 mm (5.25 ft)
Finspan: 4,800 mm (15.75 ft)
Launch mass: 17,000 kg (37,485lb) max
Recovery: Parachute
Propulsion: 2 x Churchill Mk.III bi-liquid Kerosene/LOX engines
Total impulse: 23.544 MNs (5,292,000 lb secs)
Average thrust: 294.3 kN (66,150 lb)
Maximum speed: 1323.5 mtrs/sec (2,977.91 mph)
Max Mach number: 4.25
Max altitude:
Capsule: 157,895 mtrs (518,030 ft) (98.11 miles)
Booster: 127,079 mtrs (416,928 ft) (78.96 miles)

Churchill engines