Qualification and Productization for Manufacturing of the Ocelot Rocket Engine

Abstract

As the space industry grows quickly and green propellants enjoy growing interest, the key question of research is no longer basic viability but productization. The most valuable engine is one that is qualified and available as close to “off the shelf” as possible. But publications on the process of taking an engine from first demonstrations to true product status are rare. This paper describes the process of transitioning Benchmark Space Systems’ 22N Ocelot engine – first flown as the 1.0 product version in 2022 – into a high-volume, well-characterized product, including details on the qualification program for the 1.2 version, learnings from rate production, and a deep dive into a particular production reliability issue. In doing so, it hopes to shed light on not only spacecraft thruster production but on the productization of space technology in general.