Intermetallic Materials for Micro Satellite Orbital Insertion

An overall objective was to develop a high performance material to permit advanced propulsion and thus lower cost small-scale micro satellite launches. The specific goal was to manufacture titanium aluminide rocket nozzles and motors, and test them with propellant firing. The advantages of titanium aluminide as a representative intermetallic material included toughness, strength, and high temperature performance. The procedure was to mix titanium and aluminum metal powders, cold press them into green rocket motor shapes, and then ignite them using a new microwave-driven combustion synthesis technique. The results were that near net shaped nozzles were produced for the next stage of our overall micro satellite launch objective, new rocket motor designs suitable for advanced propulsion concepts. We concluded that microwave combustion synthesis could facilitate new rocket designs and propellants.