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Space Environment Systems Engineering Lab
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A lab working to put safe, low-cost hybrid rockets into practical use.
AboutAbout the lab
Plastic fuel, bound for space.
The Space Environment Systems Engineering Lab studies hybrid rockets, which combine a solid fuel with a liquid oxidizer.
Because the fuel is plastic, there is no risk of explosion during manufacturing or storage, unlike solid rockets, which use explosive propellant, or liquid rockets, which use liquid hydrogen.
To overcome the traditional weaknesses of low combustion efficiency and low thrust, the lab is working on two new types of hybrid rocket: the CAMUI type and the end-burning type.
Since 2026, the lab has also started research on electric propulsion for use in space and on fuel ignition using plasma.
Key terms
- Hybrid rocket
- A rocket that burns a combination of propellants in different states: a solid fuel and a liquid (or gaseous) oxidizer
- Oxidizer
- A substance that supplies the oxygen needed to burn fuel. Rockets use liquid oxygen, hydrogen peroxide solution, and others
- Kick motor
- A small rocket engine that pushes a satellite carried by a launch rocket into its target orbit
NewsLab news
A paper by Associate Professor Nishii and colleagues was published in Journal of Electric Propulsion
A paper by Associate Professor Nishii and colleagues was published in Aerospace Science and Technology
A paper by Professor Nagata and colleagues was published in Journal of Propulsion and Power
Professor Nagata received the Hokkaido University President's Award for Education and Research (FY2024)
A paper by Associate Professor Nishii and colleagues was published in AIAA Journal
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to turn hybrid rockets, which are safe, inexpensive, and have controllable thrust, into propulsion systems that can actually be used. Besides new combustion methods that overcome the traditional weaknesses of low combustion efficiency and low thrust, it studies kick motors for spacecraft, oxidizers, nozzle erosion, and more.
*Illustrative imageCAMUI-Type Hybrid Rocket
This is a combustion method in which many short fuel blocks with holes are lined up in stages, so that the combustion gas repeatedly impinges on the fuel surface one block after another. This makes the fuel burn better, and the lab has succeeded in improving combustion efficiency and achieving high thrust. It is now working toward safer, cheaper propulsion systems.
*Illustrative imageEnd-Burning Hybrid Rocket
In this method, a fuel grain packed with many thin holes (ports) is made with a 3D printer, and the flames that form at the exit of each port merge and burn together. Aiming for thrust that exceeds that of solid rockets, the lab hopes to use it as a booster rocket for launches and as a kick motor for satellites.
*Illustrative imageHybrid Kick Motor
Small satellites ride along on the launches of large satellites, so they cannot freely choose the timing or orbit. The lab researches and develops the use of safe, inexpensive hybrid rockets as thrusters for changing the orbits of small satellites.
*Illustrative imageUsing Hydrogen Peroxide Solution as an Oxidizer
This research aims to further enhance the strengths of hybrid rockets, namely safety and low cost, by using 60 wt% hydrogen peroxide solution as the oxidizer. It can be stored as a liquid at room temperature and is cheap to obtain.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Space Environment Systems Engineering Lab consist of faculty, secretaries, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHarunori Nagata
- Associate ProfessorKeita Nishii
- Project Associate ProfessorLandon Thomas Kemps
- Assistant ProfessorMasashi Wakita
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Rocket Engine Hot Fire” camelNotation / CC0 (cropped)
- CAMUI-Type Hybrid Rocket: “Helical Flow Hybrid University of Tennessee” Jelutk / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- End-Burning Hybrid Rocket: “3D Printed Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grain” Matt Steiner and Kees08 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Hybrid Kick Motor: “ISS-51 CubeSat deployment - A pair of CubeSats” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Using Hydrogen Peroxide Solution as an Oxidizer: “Walter HWK 109-509 C” PSParrot from England / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Plasma Environmental Process Lab): “Plasma-lamp 2” Luc Viatour / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Computational Fluid Dynamics and Space Transportation Engineering Lab): “LES Turbulent Velocity Field” Charlesreid1 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Plasma Bio-Application Engineering Lab): “LHD plasma vacuum vessel” National Institute for Fusion Science / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Plasma Materials Engineering Lab): “Plasma generation in air” Rcaravit / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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