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The
goal of the SS2S Program
The underlying goal of the Sugar
Shot to Space program is to loft a rocket powered
by "sugar propellant" into space. Officially defined
as 100 km (62 miles) above the earth's surface. Inspiration
for this project arose from a dialogue and enduring exchange
of ideas on the SugPro e-mail amateur rocketry
forum. 
Amateur propellant
The fundamental challenge of the Sugar Shot to Space program
is to achieve the goal utilizing an honest-to-goodness amateur
propellant. "Sugar propellant" is undoubtedly
the most popular propellant used by amateur rocketry experimentalists
worldwide due to its inherent simplicity and safety. Consisting
of a cast binary mixture of chemical oxidizer and sugar,
this propellant burns and behaves in a very similar manner
to its professional counterpart. The key differences are
lower performance and simplified manufacture. For more information
on "sugar propellants" visit nakka-rocketry.net.
Important goals
Besides the extraordinary goal of sending a rocket into
space, there are other equally important and more fundamental
goals. This project is intended to be universal in scope
with regard to involvement, and as such, participants from
around the world are invited to join in this quest. It is
hoped that the Amateur Experimental Rocketry community,
which over the past decade has grown in size and in collaboration
thanks to the internet, will bond even more closely -- to
share our ideas, experiences, successes and failures. Other
goals include expanded development of "sugar propellant"
technology, leading to greater knowledge and enhanced safety
of sugar propellant rocketry. And no one can argue that
success of this project would provide incontestable legitimization
of the remarkable "sugar propellant". Last, but
not least, it is hoped that attention spurred by this project
will promote an interest in science & technology and
begin paving the way for future "rocket engineers"
to take us further.
The Projects
The SS2S program will
reveal itself via a series of motor development projects and three primary rocket vehicle
projects with the last being the vehicle by which SS2S reaches space. The proposed
primary vehicles and motors are illustrated below with an appropriate scale. Projects are detailed in the links below:
Motor Development:
 SS-TEM
BEM
LW-BEM
Vehicle Development:
MiniSShot
DoubleSShot
eXSShot
Other test projects:
ProtoSShot
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