Multidisciplinary Design Exploration for Sounding Launch Vehicle using Hybrid Rocket Engine 
in View of Ballistic Performance

Abstract

Conceptual design of a launch vehicle with a hybrid rocket engine (HRE) has been implemented 
using design informatics approach in order to investigate the feasibility of a single-stage 
hybrid rocket. Two test design problems were formulated by using two objective functions: maximization 
of downrange and minimization of initial gross weight, seven design variables which describe geometry 
and initial conditions, and one constraint relative to target altitude. The optimization result 
reveals the economical performance of hybrid rocket is limited with HRE in terms of the maximum downrange 
achievable. Moreover, the data-mining result indicates the mechanism of design-variable behavior.