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Since 1942, when Wernher von Braun launched a 2-ton liquid rocket rocket (and the deadly V2 missile), there have been more than 5,000 rocket launches, many by NASA, some by agencies Chinese and Russian space and, increasingly, by SpaceX and other commercial spaceflight companies.
But Cal Poly Pomona's Liquid Rocket Lab wants to be the first university team to take off above 45,000 feet and, in the future, in space. [19659002] 
PCMag was invited to meet the team's rocket, Bronco, his aerospace engineering team and his supervisor, Dr. Frank Chandler, Assistant Professor at the College of Engineering , who teaches design, propulsion and computer science in the aerospace. Dynamics of fluids.
"I am from the generation [1950s] October Sky ," Professor Chandler told PCMag when we arrived. "Inspired by Sputnik's first launch in the rocket sector, I spent 40 years in the aerospace industry, first at Rockwell International, then at Boeing, while they were finishing During this time, I worked on many NASA programs, including space shuttle, mission support, sequestered badysis during rocket launches, ensuring that Mounted astronauts can come back. "
In the Aerospace Engineering Conference Room, we attended Dr. Chandler's briefing to a subgroup of the 70-member team: Richard Picard, Alfredo Herrera, Tatsuya Danno, Colby Truong, Eric Gonzalez and Jesus David Montes, all undergraduate students in aerospace, engineering, mathematics or physics.
went to Building 13, where the Structures Laboratory is located. It is a large hangar-type building with rocket equipment: tools, sensors, tubes, valves for the transport of cryogenic fuel, nose cones, parachutes, tail fins and raw materials ranging from wood to carbon fiber. high technology on various workbenches [19659002] Bronco 1 is in pieces right now because the team is working on it. But it is 15 feet tall, weighs 115 pounds, has a liquid methane combustion engine, an aluminum / fiberglbad "skin", a Cygnus ablative cooled engine, and is funded by a donation of 1.67 million dollars from the National College Resources Foundation.
Here are some members of the team who talk about their specific area of responsibility on Bronco 1:
Alfredo Herrera on Bronco Electronics 1:
] Colby Truong on the Bronco 1 liquid booster system:
Eric Gonzalez on the Bronco 1 engine:
Richard Picard on the module Bronco 1 test test:
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Tatsuya Danno on the Bronco 1 propulsion system:
Bronco 1 was subjected to several tests at last year, including one previously at the Lucerne Dry Lake launch site in the middle of the Mojave Desert, at an altitude of 2848 feet.
"That night, the test team had pre-launch tests in the lab," Alfredo Herrera told us. "Then we left at around 4am in a truck from the College of Engineering, and for safety reasons, the rocket was dismantled and badembled on the site."
"The most fragile components we put in Pelican cases," added Richard Picard. "Other people got stuck in the ice at the back of the truck."
When they arrived A few hours later, in the desert From Mojave, the team disembarked from its fleet of vehicles and entered training, with each sub-team having its own to-do list. They worked more than two hours until they were ready to go to the launch pad.
"[We] approached the Rangemaster, told him which pad we were going to launch, put him there, and settled Mr. Picard explained
Satisfied that all security checks had been made, the Rangemaster initiated the countdown and take-off of Bronco 1. Here is a video clip of the day filmed by team member Eric Gonzalez on his phone.If you are at work, turn down your speakers – that's loud .
Here is the launch point of view from the ground Warning: LOUD!
Video credit to Eric Gonzalez. pic.twitter.com/8hqcJgzbyk– The CPP Liquid Rocket Lab (@CPPLRL) May 21, 2018
"Then we all prayed for the parachute to open", a said Tatsuya Danno. "You start to see him rocking then" pop "- that's an incredible feeling." A GPS transmitter is attached to the parachute te to allow the team to locate the rocket and bring it back to the laboratory.
Bronco 1 continually undergoes tests. "Our next will be the first" test with a hot fire pump, "explained Jesus David Montes," Every part of the rocket needs to be tested, and it's easier – and more efficient – to make it separately. "
" We need to make sure our electronics can withstand cryogenic temperatures, "said Gonzalez," and that all plumbing fixtures and parts are working properly.The next test environment will be on the campus and will include at least two dozen components, including solenoids and valves, traversed by liquid nitrogen up to minus 286 [F] to prevent anything from freezing in these conditions. "
follow CPPLRL on Twitter, they will publish the updates of this test day and a report for the team.
After that, everything is focused on one goal: the FAR-Mars launch competition, March 2nd. -3, 2019. Co-sponsored by the Mars Society (Denver) and Friends of Amateur Rocketry (California), the contest was held earlier this year in the Mojave Desert, but no one won the grand prize , with $ 100,000.
"It's because launching a liquid fuel rocket above 45,000 feet is a seriously complex and difficult task," explained Professor Chandler. "But if a team can do it, 2019 is everything.It is a large group of engineers.I think that they should all go to graduate school and I know that they have a great career in front of them. in aerospace. "
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