Jurnal Mekanikal Disember 2004, Bil.18 , 111 – 121 111 DEVELOPMENT OF SOLID ROCKET PROPULSION SYSTEM AT UTM Mohammad Nazri Mohd. Jaafar Wan Khairuddin Wan Ali Md Nizam Dahalan Department of Aeronautic & Automotive Faculty of Mechanical engineering Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 81310 Skudai, Johor Rizalman Mamat Faculty of Mechanical Engineering University College of Engineering and Technology Malaysia MBC Campus Kuantan, Pahang ABSTRACT Rockets have been used from as early as the thirteenth century as fireworks and weapons. However, since then the usage of rockets have been diversified. Nowadays, rockets are used from as small as model rocketry for hobbyist to as large as a satellite launcher. Another diversified usages of rockets is as a launch vehicle for cloud seeding. In line with this, over the past decade Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has been developing capabilities to launch a small rocket. Due to the low cost of raw materials and ease of production process, composite propellant is the best choice for this purpose. Potassium nitrate based solid propellant has been investigated in order to study their properties and performance. As a result, it is found that this propellant is capable of reaching the necessary range for cloud seeding (6 km - 7 km). Keywords: Solid rocket, potassium nitrate, solid rocket motor, static thrust. 1.0 INTRODUCTION A rocket is a device that develops thrust by rapid expulsion of matter. The major components of a chemical rocket assembly are a rocket motor or engine, propellant consisting of fuel and oxidizer, a frame to hold the components, control systems and payload such as a satellite. A rocket differs from other engines in that it carries its fuel and oxidizer internally, therefore it can burn in the vacuum of space as well as within the Earth's atmosphere [1]. A rocket is called a launch vehicle when it is used to launch a satellite or other payload into space. A rocket becomes a missile when the payload is a warhead and it is used as a weapon. At present, rockets are the only means capable of achieving the