R&D 100 winner of the day: Multi-burn Solid Rocket: Revolutionizing heritage technology to solve emerging space problems

For low-cost small satellites to tackle emerging commercial, scientific and national security missions they need to be capable of maneuvering while still being compatible with rideshare. To responsibly manage our ever more crowded orbit zones into the future, all satellites will soon be required to de-orbit at end-of-life and avoid collisions with space debris at a moment’s notice. Currently available propulsion systems are either too hazardous and expensive for small satellites and rideshares or simply do not provide the thrust necessary for rapid orbit change maneuvers. Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Multi-burn Solid Rocket enables multiple independently controllable impulses from a single solid rocket while maintaining the high thrust, safety, simplicity, reliability, scalability and long-term storage compatibility of traditional solid rockets. Accomplishing this required innovation in every major component of a heritage technology. This novel combination of innovations will enable safer, more widespread use of low-Earth orbit and technical applications from satellites to benefit society.