Today, Norway’s first hybrid rocket to reach space demonstrated new hybrid propulsion technology for a cleaner, safer, more flexible method of powering small launch vehicles.

Soaring up to five times the speed of sound from the Andøya Space Center, the 9 m long Nucleus sounding rocket passed the edge of Earth’s atmosphere to reach an altitude of over 107 km in less than three minutes.

After its suborbital flight it returned to Earth, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean, 180 km off the coast of Norway. Its payload, supplied by the Andøya Space Center, comprised electronics that transmitted inflight data and video for further analysis, as well as a dispenser to eject six ‘daughter payloads’ at altitude.

Nammo in partnership with ESA’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme designed and built the new hybrid motor driving this rocket. The motor combines liquid and solid propellant.

Nammo chose highly concentrated liquid hydrogen peroxide as the oxidiser reacting with a rubber-like substance as fuel. These substances are safe to handle and the byproducts of combustion are mostly water and carbon dioxide – making the motor environmentally friendly too.