LEROS
Script error: No such module "For".
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 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.
Types
| Engine | Propellant | Thrust | Isp | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEROS 1c [4] | Hydrazine / MON | 460 N | 325 | ||
| LEROS 1b | Hydrazine / MON | 635 N | 318 | ||
| LEROS 2b | MMH / MON | 407 N | 318 | ||
| LEROS 4 | MMH / MON | 1100 N | 323 [5] | Developed c. 2014 for European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Robotic Exploration Program [6] | |
| LEROS 4-ET | MMH / MON | 1310 N | 323 | Extended Thrust version of LEROS 4[7] |
History
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[8] (from 2012) and Nammo (2017). As of 2011, more than 70 LEROS 1 series engines had been flown successfully.[9]
Uses
LEROS engines have been used on a number of NASA and other space agency missions:
- NEAR Shoemaker (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous)
- Mars Global Surveyor[10]
- MESSENGER[11]
- Juno
- JCSAT-5A[12]
- Sirius 4
- Nimiq 1[13]
- SBIRS GEO 1 and GEO 2[14][15]
- Intelsat 33e[16]
- Beresheet lunar lander[17]
- EnVision Venus orbiter (ESA)[18]
- Blue Ghost lunar lander
Incidents
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]
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Nammo acquires Moog's European In-Space Propulsion businesses". MyNewsDesk. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Spaceflight Now - LEROS 1c First Firing
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Amos, Jonathan (4 September 2012). "Juno Jupiter probe gets British boost". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^ Moog ISP Apogee/Upper Stage Thrusters Script error: No such module "webarchive".
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Naicker, Lolan (May 2014). "An overview of development model testing for the LEROS 4 High Thrust Apogee Engine" (PDF). lolannaicker.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Werner, Debra (15 July 2013). "Moog Sees Higher-thrust Liquid Propellant Engine as Right Fit for Mars Missions". SpaceNews. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."West Midlands Branch: The LEROS 4 – A High Thrust Spacecraft Engine for Interplanetary Applications". Retrieved 17 October 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Moog Space & Defence Group". moog.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Corporation, American Pacific. "LEROS Engine Propels the Juno Spacecraft on Its Historic Voyage to Jupiter". prnewswire.com. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Astronautix - Mars Global Surveyor Script error: No such module "webarchive".
- ^ Spacenews feed - NASA Mercury Messenger Orbit Insertion
- ^ Spaceflight101 - Ariane 5 Flight VA206 Script error: No such module "webarchive".
- ^ Astronautix - A2100 Platform Script error: No such module "webarchive".
- ^ Skyrocket - SBIRS Geo 1
- ^ Spaceflight101 - Atlas V SBIRS Geo 2 Launch Script error: No such module "webarchive".
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Stephen Clark (30 January 2017). "Intelsat satellite in service after overcoming engine trouble". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jonathan Amos (21 February 2019). "Israel's Beresheet robot sets its sights on the Moon". BBC News.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Mission information - EnVision - Cosmos". EnVision. Archived from the original on 15 May 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
Lua error in mw.title.lua at line 404: bad argument #2 to 'title.new' (unrecognized namespace name 'Portal').
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found.
