Arif Karabeyoğlu, Ph.D.

President and Chief Technical Officer,
Space Propulsion Group Inc.

Contact

301 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, AL 35899
Campus Map

Biography

Dr. Karabeyoglu is the President and Chief Technical Officer of Space Propulsion Group, Inc. He presently serves on the Expert Advisory Board that oversees the safe development of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo rocket propulsion system and holds a Consulting Professor position at Stanford University.

Dr. Karabeyoğlu has performed extensive research and development in the field of chemical propulsion and green energy with an emphasis on the creation of new concepts and their implementation. He has been the Program Manager and Principal Investigator for a wide range of programs for clients such as the U.S. Air Force, NASA, FAA, U.S. Navy, and Scaled Composites.

Dr. Karabeyoğlu has actively participated in a number of accident/mishap investigations including the Scaled Composites Tier 1B accident. He has numerous journal articles, conference papers, and patents. In addition, he has authored a book chapter on the instabilities of hybrid rocket propulsion systems. In addition, Dr. Karabeyoğlu teaches a course on Advanced Rocket Propulsion at Stanford University. He also co-instructs an AIAA short course on hybrid rocket propulsion. He served as the chairman of the AIAA's Hybrid Technical Committee from 2009-2011.

Dr. Karabeyoğlu is a member of the American Chemical Society and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.  He received his Master's and Doctorate degrees from Stanford University.

Education

  • Ph.D., Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical Engineering, Stanford University, 1998
  • M.S., Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical Engineering, Stanford University, 1993
  • B.S., Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 1991

Affiliations

  • American Chemical Society
  • Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Expertise

  • Aerospace
  • Combustion
  • Propulsion
  • Research and Development
  • Rocket Science

Recent Publications

  • Shimada, Toru, Carmine Carmicino, and Arif Karabeyoğlu. “Special Issue ‘Hybrid Rocket (Volume II).’” Aerospace 9.5 (2022): 233

  • Hakki Karakas, Busra Kahraman, Ibrahim Ozkol, Arif Karabeyoğlu. “Hybrid Rocket Nozzle Erosion with Microaluminum-Added Fuel.” Journal of Propulsion and Power 38.6 (2022): 901–910. 

  • Kahraman, Mehmet, Ibrahim Ozkol, and M. Arif Karabeyoğlu. “Regression Rate Enhancement of Hybrid Rockets by Introducing Novel Distributed Tube Injector.” Journal of Propulsion and Power 38.2 (2022): 200–211.

  • Kara, Ozan, Hakkı Karakaş, and M. Arif Karabeyoğlu. “Hybrid Rockets with Mixed N2O/CO2 Oxidizers for Mars Ascent Vehicles.” Acta Astronautica 175 (2020): 254–267.

  • Kara, Ozan, Hakkı Karakaş, and M. Arif Karabeyoğlu. “Hybrid Rockets with Mixed N 2 O / C O 2 Oxidizers for Mars Ascent Vehicles.” Acta Astronautica 175 (2020): 254–267. 

  • Enrico Paccagnella, Francesco Barato, Kaniele Pavarin, Arif Karabeyoğlu. “Scaling Parameters of Swirling Oxidizer Injection in Hybrid Rocket Motors.” Journal of Propulsion and Power 33.6 (2017): 1378–1394. 

  • Nozari, Hadi, Onur Tuncer, and Arif Karabeyoglu. “Evaluation of Ammonia-Hydrogen-Air Combustion in SiC Porous Medium Based Burner.” Energy Procedia 142 (2017): 674–679. 

  • Hadi Nozari, Gizem Karaca, Onur Tuncer, Arif Karabeyoğlu. “Porous Medium Based Burner for Efficient and Clean Combustion of Ammonia–Hydrogen–Air Systems.” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 42.21 (2017): 14775–14785. 

  • Nozari, Hadi, and Arif Karabeyoğlu. “Numerical Study of Combustion Characteristics of Ammonia as a Renewable Fuel and Establishment of Reduced Reaction Mechanisms.” Fuel (Guildford) 159 (2015): 223–233. 

  • Karabeyoğlu, M. Arif. “Nitrous Oxide and Oxygen Mixtures (Nytrox) as Oxidizers for Rocket Propulsion Applications.” Journal of Propulsion and Power 30.3 (2014): 696–706.