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Completed TRL 7 (started at 2, targeting 7)
The LUCI task began in early FY22 with the objective to conduct a material flammability experiment in Lunar-g on the Blue Origin New Shepard vehicle. LUCI launched on the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket February 4, 2025, at Launch Site One in Van Horn, Texas. Lunar-gravity was produced by rotating the New Shepard capsule during the low-gravity coast period of the flight. Blue Origin estimated the duration of the Lunar-g period to be about 2 minutes which would be the longest duration of any ground-based experimental platform. Data from this test was compared with data obtained in the drop tower centrifuge rig to verify that experimental platform. It also demonstrated the feasibility of using the Blue Origin capsule to conduct additional simulated partial-g combustion and flammability tests.
Post-flight data analysis was completed and results are summarized in the close-out report below.
These tests were the longest duration flammability experiments conducted in Lunar-g to date. The results of this test were compared to data from the Zero-Gravity Research Facility at NASA GRC obtained using a centrifuge drop rig and zero gravity aircraft experiments. The success of this experiment has shown that material flammability testing at partial-g is feasible using a sub-orbital spinning vehicle and additional tests, like this one performed on the New Shepard vehicle, could be a cost-effective method to obtain lunar-g data for various spacecraft materials.
This experiment was a stepping stone to the ultimate goal of performing burn tests on the Lunar surface in the Flammability of Materials on the Moon (FM2) experiment which is planned to launch in late 2026, funded by the Biological and Physical Sciences Program.
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