The team hit a milestone in the design and testing of its industrial-scale rocket for the Base 11 Space Challenge.
Students from the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Texas Rocket Engineering Lab (TREL) at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin achieved success with the most recent test of their liquid bipropellant rocket, the Halcyon. The rocket underwent a liquid hot-fire test to assess the propellant ignition, which they have been working on for the past two years. According to TREL, this moves the team closer to its goal of being the first student team to design, build and launch a liquid propellant rocket to the Karman Line, the boundary line between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. This is part of their entry to the Base 11 Space Challenge.
The Base 11 Space Challenge will be awarding $1 million to the student team that develops a liquid-propelled, single-stage rocket that can reach an altitude of 100 kilometers. The challenge is currently ongoing and will end by December 30, 2021. Base 11 is intended to encourage universities to strengthen their rocketry programs and provide students with opportunities to learn more about liquid propulsion systems. According to the organizers, “Students will acquire expertise in rocket safety, learn how to navigate flight regulations, and develop the essential skills of teamwork and innovation that are most in demand by forward-looking companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Google, Virgin Galactic, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Dassault Systèmes, and Boeing.”
Base 11 is currently working alongside Dassault Systèmes, which will be providing 3D design and simulation software to university teams for free. The company will also be waiving fees for SOLIDWORKS and CATIA certifications.
TREL was first conceived as part of the Firefly@UT engineering education program back in 2018. The multiyear program allows UT students to design, develop and assemble industrial-scale rockets capable of being launched to the edge of space. The team currently has over 200 students from a range of academic disciplines. The Halcyon rocket was mainly built at TREL’s 2,000-square-foot fabrication lab at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus. However, the liquid hot-fire test was conducted in Briggs, Tex., at the Firefly facility.
Chasen Zimmer, a propulsion system engineer and aerospace engineering major under the TREL team, shared how the liquid hot-fire test signals future possibilities for the Halcyon rocket.
“Hot-firing Halcyon was the culmination of years of our sub-teams’ hard work and dedication,” said Zimmer. “Tackling hundreds of individual problems for one moment of performance is what rocketry is all about. We can’t wait for the ultimate testament of TREL’s hard work: a fully integrated Halcyon rocket.”
Similarly, engine test colead and mechanical engineering major Grace Elphingstone stated how the project has enabled the team to enhance their skills as engineers.
“This hot-fire test was the result of my team working crazy hard the past two years. It was so exciting to hit this milestone, but I think the real product of this experience was us becoming better engineers. I’m so proud of how much we’ve grown,” said Elphingstone.
The team will be working further on fulfilling ignition reliability through various tests while also improving power and burn duration. According to TREL, they will be focusing on gathering data on thrust, efficiency and heat transfer that will eventually be used to help design the flight-weight engine that will propel Halcyon to the Karman Line.
Watch the full liquid hot-fire test of the TREL Halcyon here.
