US Patent 7249553 Process and plant for destroying solid-propellant rocket motors

Described is a process and a plant for destroying rocket motors, including in particular the following steps and stations: cutting of the motor into sections; cooling of the sections containing propellant by immersion in a cryogenic liquid; and fragmenting and extraction of the cooled propellant by elastic deformation of the casing of the section. The propellant fragments are recovered for subsequent treatment and the casings are deactivated before being scrapped.