Chemical Propulsion

Chemical Propulsion

Alta has long been developing research and technology on number of chemical rocket propulsion sectors:

  • Propellant Feed Turbopumps
  • Green Propellant Rockets
  • System Analyses
  • Aerothermodynamics
With its twenty-years long heritage in cavitation and the realization of the Cavitating Pump Rotordynamic Test Facility (CPRTF), Alta has gained a leading position and unique experimental capabilities for the characterization of unsteady flow phenomena and rotordynamic forces in rocket propellant turbopumps under fluid dynamic and thermal cavitation similarity.

Inception and development of cavitation
on an inducer in Alta’s CPRTF.
Leading areas of involvement also include the development of low-thrust green propellant rocket engines and high-enthalpy aerothermodynamics. In both of these areas Alta has acquired advanced technology know-how and specialized skills through the realization and operation of dedicated experimental facilities (the Green Propellant Rocket Test Facility, GPRTF, and the High Enthalpy Arc-heated Tunnel, HEAT).


A breadboard model of an hydrogen peroxide monopropellant rocket
firing in Alta’s Green Propellant Rocket Test Facility (GPRTF).
Other fields of activity are concerned with analyses of rocket propulsion systems and gas turbines for aeronautical and ground-based applications.

To explore Alta's chemical propulsion experience and facilities, click on the right-side menu items.