A historic achievement for Polish engineers – the ILR-33 BURSZTYN 2K suborbital rocket has reached space. It is the world’s first rocket to use 98 percent hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizer. 

At the end of June and the beginning of July, engineers from Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation carried out an international launch campaign aimed at preparing the Polish suborbital rocket ILR-33 BURSZTYN 2K for space flight. The rocket, launched from Andøya Space Sub-Orbital in Norway, reached an altitude of 101 km. The Polish Space Agency, which co-financed the project, was involved in testing the rocket.  

The suborbital rocket, which was developed by engineers from Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation, travels at a speed of nearly 1.4 km/s. Many of the technologies used in it can be successfully applied in other rocket systems. 

After the success of 4 flight tests of ILR-33 BURSZTYN and ILR-33 BURSZTYN 2K rockets, which took place at domestic launch sites, Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation organized an international mission to launch the rocket. For safety reasons, it took place at a space center designed for testing suborbital systems (Andøya Space) in Norway. 

All design work related to the construction of the ILR-33 BURSZTYN 2K suborbital rocket was carried out at Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation. ILR-33 BURSZTYN 2K is a complete system developed based on space standards. It is the world’s first suborbital rocket to use one of the most environmentally friendly propellants, 98%+ hydrogen peroxide. The solution developed at Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation offers the potential for application of this propellant in satellite platforms and other long-duration space missions.

More information at: https://www.polsa.gov.pl