Development status of L75: A Brazilian liquid propellant rocket engine

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the design and development process of the L75 Liquid Propellant Rocket Engine (LPRE). Being developed at Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço (IAE), it is the first Brazilian open-cycle liquid rocket engine pressurized by turbopump, designed to deliver 75 kN of thrust in vacuum as a cryogenic upper stage engine using liquid oxygen and ethanol. The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) was accomplished in December 2011 and December 2012 the project received from Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB) a financial support, through an agreement with Fundação de Desenvolvimento da Pesquisa (FUNDEP), to proceeding with the development of models and tests. The main components of the engine, briefly described here, are thrust chamber assembly, gas generator, turbopump assembly, control system and ignition system.