Ursa Major Successfully Conducts Hotfire Test of its Draper Engine

Ursa Major Successfully Conducts Hotfire Test of its Draper Engine

Ursa Major announced the successful March hot fire of its Draper engine at the company’s headquarters in Berthoud, Colorado – a huge milestone for the liquid engine. The development of Draper was announced in May 2023, and with an ambitious goal of hot firing Draper within 12 months, the engine is well ahead of schedule, outpacing industry standards.

The 4,000-pound-thrust closed catalyst cycle engine uses a non-cryogenic fuel that optimizes storability, making the engine uniquely suited for in-space propulsion applications. Based on its thrust profile, the engine is not only capable of maneuvering objects in orbit but doing so without fully depleting its store of propellant, potentially allowing for additional mission functions. As adversaries like Russia and China pursue anti-satellite systems, the need for defensive technology will continue to grow – Ursa Major’s Draper propulsion system is primed to be a part of that response.

The engine’s accelerated pace through the development process showcases Ursa Major’s unique ability to meet the growing demand of the United States defense industrial base. Originally designed for hypersonic applications, Draper is additionally working to position the U.S. as a competitor in the field of hypersonics, where the country currently lags dangerously behind adversaries.

Drawing on the architectural and manufacturing legacy of Ursa Major’s Hadley engine, Draper combines the storable attributes of a solid rocket motor with active throttle control and throttle range of a liquid engine, providing the maneuverability and flexibility that is needed for hypersonic defense. It is this unique design that allows the engine to effectively simulate hypersonic threats and that makes the engine well-equipped to address the critical gap in America's hypersonics capabilities.

“We're excited with how quickly the development program has progressed and look forward to fielding the engine for hypersonics and in-space applications in the coming years,” said Brad Appel, Chief Technology Officer at Ursa Major. The development and testing of Draper are supported by funding from a contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The funding was also directed to building the Draper-specific test stand at Ursa Major’s headquarters in Berthoud, Colorado, which has and will continue to allow for greater testing capabilities and, in turn, quicker iteration and development of the Draper engine.

“Perhaps the most-impressive aspect of this program is the delivery of a versatile, storable rocket engine in such an incredibly short timeframe. AFRL and industry is taking on the challenge our USAF and USSF leadership has asked us to deliver faster capabilities, craft tighter bonds with industry, and leverage what is already in existence to provide asymmetric advances. And thankfully, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what we are doing as One Team,” said Dr. Shawn Phillips, Chief of AFRL’s Rocket Propulsion Division.

Following this successful engine hot-fire, Ursa Major intends to continue an aggressive development campaign and mature the engine towards flight qualification.

Click here to learn more about Ursa Major's Launch Vehicle Engines on SatNow.

Publisher: SatNow

GNSS Constellations - A list of all GNSS satellites by constellations

beidou

Satellite NameOrbit Date
BeiDou-3 G4Geostationary Orbit (GEO)17 May, 2023
BeiDou-3 G2Geostationary Orbit (GEO)09 Mar, 2020
Compass-IGSO7Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)09 Feb, 2020
BeiDou-3 M19Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M20Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M21Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M22Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 I3Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M23Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019
BeiDou-3 M24Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019

galileo

Satellite NameOrbit Date
GSAT0223MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0224MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0219MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0220MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0221MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0222MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0215MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0216MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0217MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0218MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017

glonass

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Kosmos 2569--07 Aug, 2023
Kosmos 2564--28 Nov, 2022
Kosmos 2559--10 Oct, 2022
Kosmos 2557--07 Jul, 2022
Kosmos 2547--25 Oct, 2020
Kosmos 2545--16 Mar, 2020
Kosmos 2544--11 Dec, 2019
Kosmos 2534--27 May, 2019
Kosmos 2529--03 Nov, 2018
Kosmos 2527--16 Jun, 2018

gps

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Navstar 82Medium Earth Orbit19 Jan, 2023
Navstar 81Medium Earth Orbit17 Jun, 2021
Navstar 78Medium Earth Orbit22 Aug, 2019
Navstar 77Medium Earth Orbit23 Dec, 2018
Navstar 76Medium Earth Orbit05 Feb, 2016
Navstar 75Medium Earth Orbit31 Oct, 2015
Navstar 74Medium Earth Orbit15 Jul, 2015
Navstar 73Medium Earth Orbit25 Mar, 2015
Navstar 72Medium Earth Orbit29 Oct, 2014
Navstar 71Medium Earth Orbit02 Aug, 2014

irnss

Satellite NameOrbit Date
NVS-01Geostationary Orbit (GEO)29 May, 2023
IRNSS-1IInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)12 Apr, 2018
IRNSS-1HSub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO)31 Aug, 2017
IRNSS-1GGeostationary Orbit (GEO)28 Apr, 2016
IRNSS-1FGeostationary Orbit (GEO)10 Mar, 2016
IRNSS-1EGeosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)20 Jan, 2016
IRNSS-1DInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)28 Mar, 2015
IRNSS-1CGeostationary Orbit (GEO)16 Oct, 2014
IRNSS-1BInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Apr, 2014
IRNSS-1AInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)01 Jul, 2013