Bell Rocket Belt - Operating Principle

Operating Principle

All existing rocket packs are based on the construction of the "Bell Rocket Belt" pack, developed in 1960-1969 by Wendell Moore.

Moore's pack has two major parts:

• Rigid glass-plastic corset (8), strapped to the pilot (10). The corset has a tubular metallic frame on the back, on which are fixed three gas cylinders: two with liquid hydrogen peroxide (6), and one with compressed nitrogen (7). When the pilot is on the ground, the corset distributes the weight of the pack to the pilot's back.
• The rocket engine, able to move on a ball and socket joint (9) in the upper part of the corset. The rocket engine consists of a gas generator (1) and two pipes (2) rigidly connected with it, which end with jet nozzles with controlled tips (3). The engine is rigidly connected to two levers, which are passed under the pilot's hands. Using these levers the pilot inclines the engine forward or back and to the sides. On the right lever is the thrust control turning handle (5), connected with a cable to the regulator valve (4) to supply fuel to the engine. On the left lever is the steering handle, which controlled the tips of jet nozzles.

• In the figure the hydrogen peroxide cylinders and compressed nitrogen cylinder are designated (pressure c. 40 atm or 4 MPa).
• The pilot turns the engine thrust control handle, and opens the regulator valve (3).
• Compressed nitrogen (1) displaces liquid peroxide of hydrogen (2), which on the tubes enters the gas generator (4).
• There it contacts the catalyst (thin silver plates, covered with a layer of samarium nitrate) and is decomposed.
• The resulting hot high-pressure mixture of steam and gas enters two pipes, which emerge from the gas generator.
• These pipes are covered with a layer of heat insulator to reduce loss of heat.
• Then the hot gas enters the jet nozzles (De Laval nozzles), where first they are accelerated, and then expand, acquiring supersonic speed and creating reactive thrust.

The whole construction is simple and reliable; the rocket engine has no moving parts.