VSB-30

VSB-30 - "Veículo de Sondagem Booster – 30" (Booster Sounding Vehicle) or "Foguete Suborbital VSB-30" is the designation of a Brazilian sounding rocket, which replaced the Skylark rocket at Esrange.

The VSB-30 is based on the VS-30 rocket (S-30 engine) with the addition of a booster stage (S-31 engine). Development started in 2000 in cooperation with DLR. The rocket can carry a payload of 400 kg to an altitude of 270 km. It has a liftoff thrust of 240 kN and a total mass of 2570 kg. It has a diameter of 0.56 m and a length of 12.6 m.

VSB-30 was first launched on October 23, 2004, at Alcântara Launch Center. The first launch at Esrange took place on December 1, 2005.

Flights VSB-30 performed the following flights: DateFlightSiteNameApogee23 October 2004XV-01AlcântaraCajuana test240 km1 December 2005V02EsrangeTEXUS EML-1/TEXUS 42 Microgravity mission263 km10 May 2006V03EsrangeTEXUS 43 Microgravity mission237 km19 July 2007V04AlcântaraCuma II Microgravity mission242 km7 February 2008V05EsrangeDLR TEXUS 44 (EML-2)264 km21 February 2008V06EsrangeDLR TEXUS 45270 km15 May 2008V08EsrangeMASER 11252 km22 November 2009V09EsrangeTEXUS 4629 November 2009V10EsrangeTEXUS 4712 December 2010V07AlcântaraMICROG 1A242 km29 March 2011V15EsrangeTEXUS 49268 km29 March 2011V14EsrangeTEXUS 48268 km13 February 2012V16EsrangeMASER 12259 km12 April 2013V17EsrangeTEXUS 5022 February 2015V20EsrangeCRYOFENIX30 March 2015V13AndøyaHIFiRE 723 April 2015V18EsrangeTEXUS 5127 April 2015V21EsrangeTEXUS 5230 July 2015V24EsrangeMapheus 51 December 2015V22EsrangeMASER 1323 January 2016V23EsrangeTEXUS 537 December 2016V11AlcântaraMICROG 223 January 2017V19EsrangeMAIUS 113 May 2017V25EsrangeMAPHEUS 630 June 2017V12WoomeraHIFiRE 4a / HIFiRE 4b13 May 2018V26EsrangeTEXUS 5431 May 2018V27EsrangeTEXUS 5524 June 2019V??EsrangeMASER-14260 km15 November 2019V??EsrangeTEXUS-56256 km14 December 2021V32AlcântaraCruzeiro Operation (14-X S)280 km1 October 2022V??EsrangeTEXUS-5723 October 2022V29AlcântaraOperação Santa Branca (MQ-PSM)227 km23 November 2022V??EsrangeS1X-3/MASER 15 (SubOrbital Express 3)260 km24 April 2023V??EsrangeTEXUS-58250 km2 December 2023V??EsrangeMAIUS-2234 km15 February 2024V??EsrangeTEXUS-59264.5 km24 March 2024V??EsrangeTEXUS-60251.7 km26 November 2024V??EsrangeMASER 16 (SubOrbital Express 4)256 km

Characteristics VSB-30 has the following configuration: Length (mm): 12600 Stages: 2 Payload Mass (kg): 400 Diameter (mm): 570 Total takeoff mass (kg): 2570 Apogee (Max km): 270

Stages

S-30 solid rocket stage Gross Mass: 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) Unfuelled mass: 341 kg (752 lb) Height: 3.30 m (10.80 ft) Diameter: 0.56 m (1.83 ft) Thrust: 102.00 kN (22,930 lbf) Burn time: 20 s

S-31 solid rocket stage Gross Mass: 900 kg (1,984 lb) Unfuelled mass: 284 kg (626 lb) Height: 3.20 m (10.40 ft) Diameter: 0.56 m (1.83 ft) Thrust: 240.00 kN (53,950 lbf) Burn time: 11 s

S-31 rocket engine The VSB-30 sounding rocket uses the S-31 motor as first stage. The S-31 is also used in other various configurations like the VSB-30 Improved Orion, S-31 Improved Orion, S-31 Improved Malemute and S-31 Improved Malemute Improved Orion.

The S-31 is a solid-fuel rocket motor developed and manufactured in Brazil by Avibras Aeroespacial.

S-31 specifications

Type: Solid-fuel rocket motor Fuel: HTPB-based composite propellant Thrust: 240 kN Burn time: 11 seconds Diameter: 56 cm Length: 3.2 meters Fuel Mass: 284 kg Total Mass: 900 kg

VSB-30

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