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Since 1942, when Wernher von Braun launched a 2-ton liquid rocket rocket (and the deadly V2 missile) into space, more than 5,000 rockets have been fired, many by NASA, some by agencies China and Russia and, increasingly, by SpaceX and other commercial space flight 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, into space.
PCMag was invited to meet the team's rocket, Bronco, his aerospace engineering team and his supervisor, Dr. Frank Chandler, an badistant professor at the College of Engineering who teaches design, propulsion and dynamics digital fluids.
"I am from [1950s] October sky generation, "Professor Chandler told PCMag when we arrived." Inspired by the first launch of Sputnik in the rocket sector. I spent 40 years in the aerospace industry, first at Rockwell International, then at Boeing, just as they were finishing the Apollo program. During this time, I worked on many NASA programs, including space shuttle, mission support, sequestered badysis during rocket launches, ensuring that mounted astronauts come back . "
In the conference room of aerospace engineering, Dr. Chandler attended a meeting with a subgroup of 70 members of the team: Richard Picard, Alfredo Herrera, Tatsuya Danno, Colby Truong, Eric Gonzalez and Jesus David Montes , all undergraduate students in training. aerospace, engineering, mathematics or physics.
Then we all went to Building 13, where the Structures Laboratory is located. It is a large hangar-type building, equipped with many equipment for the rocket: tools, sensors, tubes, valves for the transportation of cryogenic rocket fuel, nose cones, parachutes, caudal fins and raw materials ranging from wood. high-tech carbon fiber installed on various workbenches.
Bronco 1 is in pieces at the moment 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 the Bronco 1 electronics:
Colby Truong on the Bronco 1 liquid propellant system:
Eric Gonzalez on the Bronco 1 engine:
Richard Picard on the Bronco 1 test module:
Tatsuya Danno on the Bronco 1 propulsion system:
Bronco 1 has undergone several tests over the past year, including one earlier this year at the Lucerne Dry Lake launch site in the middle of the Mojave Desert, at an altitude of 2,848 feet.
"That night, the test team stayed late enough in the lab to do pre-launch tests," Alfredo Herrera told us. "Then we left at around 4am in a truck borrowed from the College of Engineering, and for safety reasons, the rocket was damaged and we badembled it on the site."
"The most fragile components we put in Pelican cases" added Richard Picard. "From the others we got stuck between the ice chests at the back of the truck."
When they arrived in the Mojave Desert a few hours later, the team disembarked from its fleet of vehicles and entered training, with each sub-team having its own to-do list. They worked for more than two hours until they were ready to go to the launch pad.
"[We] went to the Rangemaster, told him which pad we were going to launch, put it on, set the altimeters and came back to a safe distance, "Picard said.
Satisfied that all security checks were done, the Rangemaster started the countdown and Bronco 1 took off. here is a video clip of the day, pulled by Eric Gonzalez, team member, on the phone. If you're at work, turn down your speakers – that's it noisy.
Here is the view of the launch from the ground. Warning: LOUD!
Video credit to Eric Gonzalez. pic.twitter.com/8hqcJgzbyk– CPP Liquid Rocket Lab (@CPPLL) May 21, 2018
"Then we all prayed for the parachute to open," said Tatsuya Danno. "You start to see it rocking then" pop "- it's an incredible feeling." A GPS transmitter is attached to the parachute to allow the team to locate the rocket and bring it back to the laboratory.
Bronco 1 is continually testing. "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 is simpler – and more efficient – to do it in isolation. "
"We need to make sure that our electronic components are able to handle cryogenic temperatures," said Gonzalez, "and to ensure proper operation of the plumbing and components." The next test environment will take place on campus and will include at least two dozen components, including solenoids, valves, and liquid nitrogen current through them, up to minus 286 [F] to ensure that nothing freezes under these conditions ".
If you follow CPPLRL on Twitter, they will post updates from this test day and a report for the team.
After that, everything is geared towards one goal: the FAR-March Launch Contest, March 2 and 3, 2019. Co-sponsored jointly by the Mars Society (Denver) and the Friends of Amateur Rocketry (California), the contest had place earlier this year in the Mojave Desert, but nobody won the $ 100,000 grand prize.
"This is because launching a liquid fuel rocket above 45,000 feet is a seriously complex and difficult task," explained Professor Chandler. "But if any team can do it, in 2019, that's fine, it's a terrific group of engineers, I think they should all go to." the university and that I know that they have great careers in the aerospace. "
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