LEROS explained

LEROS is a family of chemical rocket engines manufactured by Nammo[1] at Westcott, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. LEROS engines have been used as primary apogee engines for telecommunications satellites such as the Lockheed Martin A2100[2] as well as deep space missions such as Juno.[3]

The family of engines derives from the LEROS 1 which was developed and qualified in the 1990s by Royal Ordnance. The in-space propulsion business was acquired by British Aerospace, then had a sequence of owners including American Pacific Corporation, Moog[4] (from 2012) and Nammo (2017). The LEROS engines are made of niobium alloy, which is traditionally used for liquid rocket engines such as the attitude control thrusters of the Apollo Lunar Module. As of 2011, more than 70 LEROS 1 series engines had been flown successfully.[5]

EnginePropellantThrustIspComments
LEROS 1c [6] Hydrazine / MON460 N325
LEROS 1b Hydrazine / MON635 N318
LEROS 2b MMH / MON407 N318
LEROS 4MMH / MON1100 N323 [7] Developed c. 2014 for European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Robotic Exploration Program [8]

Uses

LEROS engines have been used on a number of NASA and other space agency missions:

There have been helium check valve problems on Juno leading to postponed maneuvers, and a failure after the first burn on Intelsat 33e requiring backup low-thrust jets to be used to bring the satellite to its intended orbit.[16]

Notes and References

  1. News: Nammo acquires Moog's European In-Space Propulsion businesses. 12 June 2017. MyNewsDesk. 28 June 2018.
  2. http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0006/27arcengine/ Spaceflight Now - LEROS 1c First Firing
  3. Web site: Amos . Jonathan. Juno Jupiter probe gets British boost. BBC News. 5 July 2016. 4 September 2012.
  4. Web site: Moog Space & Defence Group . moog.co.uk. https://web.archive.org/web/20170222204418/http://www.moog.co.uk/locations-contacts/moog-space-defence-group.html. 22 February 2017. dead.
  5. Web site: LEROS Engine Propels the Juno Spacecraft on Its Historic Voyage to Jupiter. Corporation. American Pacific. prnewswire.com. 2018-06-28.
  6. http://www.moog.com/products/thrusters/apogee-upper-stage-thrusters/ Moog ISP Apogee/Upper Stage Thrusters
  7. Web site: An overview of development model testing for the LEROS 4 High Thrust Apogee Engine. Naicker. Lolan. May 2014. lolannaicker.com. 28 June 2018. 16 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220116135611/http://www.lolannaicker.com/documents/SP2014_2969298.pdf. dead.
  8. Web site: Werner. Debra. Moog Sees Higher-thrust Liquid Propellant Engine as Right Fit for Mars Missions. SpaceNews. 5 July 2016. 15 July 2013.
  9. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/marveyor.htm Astronautix - Mars Global Surveyor
  10. http://www.spacenewsfeed.co.uk/index.php/mercury/7793-ampac-isp-engine-successfully-inserts-nasa-messenger-spacecraft-into-orbit-around-mercury Spacenews feed - NASA Mercury Messenger Orbit Insertion
  11. http://www.spaceflight101.com/va-206-ariane-5-mission.html Spaceflight101 - Ariane 5 Flight VA206
  12. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/as2100.htm Astronautix - A2100 Platform
  13. http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/sbirs-high.htm Skyrocket - SBIRS Geo 1
  14. http://www.spaceflight101.com/atlas-v-sbirs-geo-2-launch-updates.html Spaceflight101 - Atlas V SBIRS Geo 2 Launch
  15. News: Israel's Beresheet robot sets its sights on the Moon. Jonathan Amos . BBC News. 21 February 2019.
  16. News: Intelsat satellite in service after overcoming engine trouble. Stephen Clark. Spaceflight Now. 30 January 2017. 31 January 2017.

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