Students Conduct Successful Static Fire Tests of Two Rocket Engines
The College of Engineering at Cal State Long Beach achieved a major milestone this past weekend when a team of students successfully conducted a series of complex rocket engine static fire tests in the Mojave desert. Undertaken as part of a cooperative student mentoring and technology research initiative between the Aerospace Engineering Dept. at CSULB and Garvey Spacecraft Corporation, this project is helping to educate the future engineers who are key to a healthy aerospace industry in California, while also promoting low-cost launch systems.
These static fire tests used the Prospector 1 vehicle that students have been developing over the past semester. They took place on Sunday, 20 May 2001 at the Mojave Test Area, which is owned and operated by the non-profit Reaction Research Society (the RRS is one of the oldest rocket clubs in existence, with a history tracing back over five decades). The Prospector 1 supplied a propellant combination of liquid Oxygen and watered-down ethanol – the same mixture used on the V-2 rocket of World War II.
Static Fire Test Setup with 1000 lbf Engine Mounted on Prospector 1 Airframe (© Adaptive Designs)
The first test evaluated the performance of an improved version of a 500 pound-thrust engine that Garvey Spacecraft has developed and flown on a series of previous research rockets. This particular engine incorporated a new graphite-epoxy, filament-wound thrust chamber fabricated by Advanced Composite Products & Technology of Huntington Beach, with additional support by Adaptive Designs of Cost Mesa. Besides collecting critical parameter data, this first test also qualified the Prospector 1 airframe and the related ground support equipment for subsequent flight-testing.
Static Fire of 500 lbf Engine (© Adaptive Designs)
The second test focused on a 1000 pound-thrust engine designed and fabricated by CSULB students. It achieved a peak measured thrust of 917 pounds – extremely close to the design goal for a first-time engine. Subsequent inspection verified that the unit suffered no damage. Indeed, its condition is so good that CSULB faculty advisors and Garvey Spacecraft management have approved the students’ decision to reuse it on the upcoming Prospector 1 flight test.
Static Fire of 1000 lbf Engine (© Adaptive Designs)
The launch window for the first Prospector 1 launch attempt is scheduled for the weekend of 2-3 June, again at the MTA. The team is busy finishing the recovery system, although the student participants have had to divert some attention to final exams that are underway this week.
CSULB and its corporate partners believe that this cooperative project can serve as a model for future initiatives that seek to provide students real hands-on hardware experience while also advancing technology in a number of related fields. Their position was recently validated by the California Space Authority, which has awarded the team a contract to undertake even more ambitious research during the 2001-02 academic year.
For additional information about either the static fire tests and/or the cooperative program between CSULB and Garvey Spacecraft Corporation, please contact the following project representatives:
Dr. Eric Besnard
Aerospace Engineering Dept.
California State University, Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Blvd Long Beach, CA 90840
Tel: (562) 985-5442
Fax: (562) 985-1669
Email: besnarde@csulb.edu
Mr. John Garvey
Garvey Spacecraft Corporation
15641 Product Lane, Unit A5
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
Tel: (714) 903-6086 or (714) 658-6930
Email: jmgarvey@garvspace.com