Students
participate in successful launch with experimental
engine
Courtesy
of Tony Richards
By
Jack Schneider
On-line Forty-Niner
Students
and faculty from the college of aerospace
engineering successfully launched the first-known
liquid-propellant rocket ever by using an
aerospike engine.
The
California Launch Vehicle Education Initiative
(CALVEIN), a non-profit Research reaction
along with Garvey Spacecraft Corp. gave
the students the opportunity to work to
develop the engine with a successful launch
of the prospector-2 last month in the Mojave
Desert.
Eric
Besnard, assistant professor in the college
of aerospace and engineering, said the aerospike
engine makes the rocket glide into the air
at a smoother and more inclined rate than
other engines.
"Unlike
conventional rocket engines which utilize
bell-shaped nozzles and are designed to
operate optimally at a single altitude,"
Besnard said, "Aerospike engines offer
the advantage of self compensation as the
launch vehicle climbs through the atmosphere
and provide improvements in propulsive efficiency
when operating below design pressure."
Although
the aerospike engine may have some benefits
with a smoother launch, John Garvey of Garvey
Spacecraft Corp. said many of the engineers
decide to go with the more traditional model
of a bell-shaped engine.
"On
whether to use the aerospike, the decision
is usually to go with tried and true since
there is perceived risk in the performance,"
Garvey said.
Due
to little funding, Garvey said some of the
materials were only used once in the rocket
launch.
"Because
of cost, we used materials like graphite
which will work for a short time,"
Garvey said. "However, to get more
advanced performance, we will have to replace
it."
Aerospace
engineering major Jeffery Tai said for future
launches, the group could use more productive
materials for the rocket such as ceramics.
"We're
looking to replace the graphite [parts ]with
ceramic but that's way expensive,"
Tai said.
With
the launch of the P-2, Besnard said no other
successful rocket launch contained an aerospike
engine.
"Until
our flight last month, no aerospike engine
using liquid propellants was known to have
powered a rocket in flight after more than
four decades of research," Besnard
said.
Before
the successful launch, the group did experience
some difficulties in trying to launch the
rocket. One difficulty was when the engine
malfunctioned.
"Post
flight engine analysis showed that this
malfunction was due to a small gap left
during engine combustion chamber manufacturing,"
Besnard said.
Ashley
Carter, president of the student American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
witnessed the successful launch, and said
she was thrilled to see the flight.
"I
was in the bunker, and I saw maybe about
half a second of the launch and said it's
up!'" Carter said.
The
project now consists of full-time and part-time
students from CSULB and Cerritos High School.
After
many hours of working on fixing the P-2,
Garvey said he has seen more students become
involved in the program.
"We
had a great deal of student involvement,"
Garvey said. "We have students working
on the program for several years and they
are productive right from the beginning.
Some 20 or 30 students just come to see,
but there are 10 are the hardcore members.
After
the launch, and the trials of working on
the rocket, Besnard said students will make
improvements to the rocket because they
noticed a miniature gap left during engine
combustion chamber manufacturing.
"We
are currently making a small design change
to try and prevent this problem from happening
again," Besnard said. "Current
plans call for a 'reflight' of the modified
engine later this semester powering Prospector-4,
which the students are now working on."
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