page_title: Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant
section_title: Model/high-power rocketry applications
hierarchical_section_title: Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant / Model/high-power rocketry applications
caption_attribution_description: Mercury Joe was a little slow off the pad, but ripped though the air as the yellow bird migrated South. The remote camera on tripod at Pad E gives you a sense of scale. Jamie Clay is an expert in video rocketry. The rocket is bristling with cameras. There is even one inside the capsule, giving the weightless perspective of Mercury Joe at apogee (with a floating yellow M&amp;M).
context_page_description: Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant is a modern fuel used in solid-propellant rocket vehicles. It differs from many traditional solid rocket propellants such as black powder or zinc-sulfur, not only in chemical composition and overall performance, but also by the nature of how it is processed. APCP is cast into shape, as opposed to powder pressing as with black powder. This provides manufacturing regularity and repeatability, which are necessary requirements for use in the aerospace industry.
context_section_description: Commercial APCP rocket engines usually come in the form of reloadable motor systems (RMS) and fully assembled single-use rocket motors. For RMS, the APCP "grains" (cylinders of propellant) are loaded into the reusable motor casing along with a sequence of insulator disks and o-rings and a (graphite or glass-filled phenolic resin) nozzle. The motor casing and closures are typically bought separately from the motor manufacturer and are often precision-machined from aluminum. The assembled RMS contains both reusable (typically metal) and disposable components.
  The major APCP suppliers for hobby use are:
  Aerotech Consumer Aerospace
  Cesaroni Technology
  Loki Research
  Gorilla Rocket Motors
  To achieve different visual effects and flight characteristics, hobby APCP suppliers offer a variety of different characteristic propellant types. These can range from fast-burning with little smoke and blue flame to classic white smoke and white flame. In addition, colored formulations are available to display reds, greens, blues, and even black smoke.
  In medium- and high-power rocket applications, APCP has largely replaced black powder as a rocket propellant. Compacted black powder slugs become prone to fracture in larger applications, which can result in catastrophic failure in rocket vehicles. APCP's elastic material properties make it less vulnerable to fracture from accidental shock or high-acceleration flights. Due to these attributes, widespread adoption of APCP and related propellant types in the hobby has significantly enhanced the safety of rocketry.
caption: A high-power rocket launch using an APCP motor
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.1.3", "Image DateTime": "2006:09:25 22:12:34", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.4.7", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "246", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4598", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2789", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/8000", "EXIF FNumber": "5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Shutter Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "640", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:09:23 12:07:15", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:09:23 12:07:15", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "13", "EXIF ApertureValue": "37/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "190", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4368", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2912", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "873600/283", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1456000/471", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}