Successful
launch advances industry
Courtesy
of Eric Besnard
The
rocket launch was a satisfying end to a
2-year program.
By
Laura Goolsby
On-line Forty-Niner
Cal
State Long Beach students successfully launched
a rocket they built and designed that incorporates
new aerospace engineering technology Sunday
morning.
The
rocket launch is part of a program affiliated
with the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
project known as California Launch Vehicle
Education Initiative.
"The
California Launch Vehicle Education Initiative,
built on the pilot program established between
CSULB and Garvey Spacecraft Corporation
in the spring of 2001, intends to develop
and implement an engineering education program
addressing the design and manufacturing
of low cost launch vehicles," according
to the initiatives Web site.
"The
engine performed excellently," said
Jose Ruiz, an aerospace engineering student
who worked on the recovery system mechanism
for the rocket. "It's hard to make
that kind of engine perform better."
The
rocket launch was a satisfying culmination
to a two-year project that has garnered
worldwide attention, according to Eric Besnard,
a professor of mechanical and aerospace
engineering at CSULB who has coordinated
the project since its inception.
"It
was completely successful," Besnard
said. "We were the first ones to do
it this past September and we did it again
on Sunday."
The
launch used what is known as an aerospike
engine as opposed to a conventional bell
shaped rocket engine, Besnard said.
This
type of technology could have long ranging
impact on the aerospace industry in the
future. The purpose of any rocket engine
is to deliver its payload, such as putting
a shuttle into orbit. The aerospike engine
will hopefully achieve this goal more efficiently.
"Right
now," Besnard said, "a space shuttle
is only optimized for one particular altitude
and they just live with the performance
they have at other altitudes. With this
engine, they would be able to either put
a smaller engine or deliver more payload,
which means more performance."
In
fact, this technology has been looked at
closely by NASA in the past but was never
fully developed because they thought the
technology was "too immature,"
according to Besnard.
Other than advancing technology in the aerospace
industry, the rocket launch program is a
tool for CSULB students that helps them
build skills in their field in addition
to other benefits.
"It's been fun," Ruiz said. "You
meet more people, get a lot of contacts.
You are learning how to work with other
people in you area and combine ideas."
Although
student efforts on behalf of the project
are voluntary, approximately 50 aerospace
engineering students work on it per semester,
Besnard said.
"We
try to have at least one launch per semester,"
Besnard said. "We'll continue operating
and making more rockets so that students
can have more hands-on experience, real
hardware flying and building these vehicles."
While
there is no doubt that last weekend's launch
symbolizes an encouraging advance for the
aerospace engineering industry, for some
it was most satisfying an a personal level.
"For me and the students," Besnard
said, "the launch was very exciting."
"It
was very cool," Ruiz said. "Everybody
was cheering after the launch but I was
still quiet. Once the rocket deployed, then
I started cheering because I knew the recovery
system did exactly what it was supposed
to do."
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