Earlier this year, we took a look at Bloodhound SSC, a new land speed record challenger that is taking shape in the UK. The vehicle is being designed and built to see the far side of 1,000 mph, which the team aims to reach at the Hakskeen Pan (a dry lake bed in South Africa). It’s going to use a combination of jet and rocket power to get there.
The jet engine part has been set from the start; the UK government has supplied a spare Rolls-Royce EJ200, more commonly found in the Eurofighter. That will provide around half the thrust needed to get to 1,000 mph; the rest is going to be provided by a hybrid rocket being built by the Norwegian firm Nammo. Usually, a rocket will either use liquid fuel and oxidizers (e.g. liquid hydrogen and oxygen) or combined fuel and oxidizer in a solid matrix (like the Space Shuttle’s boosters). Bloodhound’s rocket uses a liquid oxidizer—concentrated hydrogen peroxide (High Test Peroxide, or HTP)—and synthetic rubber as the fuel. The liquid oxidizer allows the rocket to be throttled or turned off, something that you can’t really do with a traditional solid rocket.
via Ars Technica
