Company Flies Biofuel Rocket (Video)

By Nancy Atkinson - July 24, 2009 11:21 AM UTC | Space Exploration

Flometrics, Inc. successfully flew a liquid fueled rocket with a 100% renewable fuel, a version of JP-8 (Jet Propellant 8) and liquid oxygen. The 180 lb (81 kg) rocket was 20 feet (6 meters) tall, 1 foot (.3 meters) diameter and it was powered by a RocketDyne LR-101 rocket engine that was originally used as a steering engine on the early Atlas and Delta rockets. The rocket performance during the 15 second long burn was better than the performance of a similar rocket using RP-1 refined kerosene rocket fuel. It reached an altitude of approximately 20,000 ft (6096 m) and may have exceeded Mach 1. The biofuel ran cleaner than the standard rocket fuel that has been used before. Since the biofuel was originally designed for jets, it may be possible to tune it for better performance in rocket engines. The fuel was developed by the

Energy and Environment Research Center (EERC)

at the University of North Dakota.

Source: Flometrics

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com