Preliminary flight test of hydrogen peroxide retro-propulsion module

In this paper, we present the development of a retro-thruster, the design of a retro-propulsion module, and a preliminary flight of the module in a landing demonstration. First, a retro-monopropellant thruster with the maximum thrust of 350 N that employs hydrogen peroxide as a monopropellant was developed. It's thrust force, efficiency of characteristic velocity, and specific impulse were evaluated during the course of it's development. To control the thrust force, two solenoid valves and a pulse width modulation (PWM) flow control valve were incorporated into the thruster design. Second, a retro-propulsion module with a wet mass of 23 kg was designed and fabricated. All the required components including tanks, propellant tubes, a pressure regulator, valves, a retro-thruster, and support structure were integrated into the module. Finally, a preliminary flight test with thrust and altitude control was carried out successfully. In this test, the throttling of the thrust force and altitude control was performed manually for safety purposes.