Video of Generation Orbit Engine Hot Fire

Video Caption: Hot fire testing of the GO1 Engineering Development Unit at Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, FL completed on Wednesday 20 June 2018. GO1 to be an affordable and flexible hypersonic testbed to flight test a wide range of hypersonic vehicle technologies.

Building up a series of cold flows and engine development tests, this hot fire test demonstrated integration of the engine with flight like propellant tanks, valves, pressurization system, and flight controls. Further, the test demonstrated the throttling capabilities of the system necessary to meet the thrust levels for Mach 6 cruise at 80,000 to 90,000 ft. This feature is a key enabler of GO1’s next-generation hypersonic flight testing capabilities for fundamental research and technology maturation. This is GO’s first test campaign to include Ursa Major Technologies’ “Hadley” liquid rocket engine. The 5,000 lbf-class oxygen-rich staged combustion engine performed as expected through the tests.

GO1 is a single-stage liquid rocket, launched from a Gulfstream III carrier aircraft, primarily designed for hypersonic flight testing. The rocket vehicle propulsion system utilizes liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants. The system is designed to provide affordable and regular access to high dynamic pressure flight conditions between Mach 5 and Mach 8 to a wide range of payloads for fundamental research, technology development, and risk reduction. The first flight of GO1 is planned for late 2019.