Project Description: 

The Oregon State University (OSU) High Altitude Liquid Engine (HALE) rocket team is a student-led, multidisciplinary team comprised of students majoring in business, physics, biochemistry, computer science, and a variety of engineering disciplines. The team is primarily focused on development of liquid propulsion systems and related launch vehicles. As a competitor in the Base 11 Space Challenge, HALE is competing against other university teams to be the first collegiate rocketry program to successfully launch a single stage liquid bipropellant rocket engine to the Kármán line. The Stellaris Test Stand provides a platform for testing liquid rocket engines and characterization of propellants. This test stand will allow for the liquid engine program to expand as future iterations of engines are developed and implemented into flight vehicles. Throughout the 2019-2020 year, the team made significant progress toward OSU’s first hot fire of a liquid rocket engine. Major milestones included installation of the data acquisition and control systems, completion of fluid systems manufacturing, development of testing procedures, plumbing leak checking, hydrostatic pressure testing, cryogenic testing, and cold flow testing. Throughout summer 2019, the test stand subteam members were hard at work retrofitting the area in the OSU Propulsion Lab. Throughout the summer the majority of the structural components of the test stand had been installed including: the run tank stand, the propellant fill and feed assembly, the thrust stand, and the liquid oxygen catch. This set the capstone team up well to hit the ground running the fall. Extensive manufacturing and installation were required to prepare the propellant fluid systems as well as design and analysis review. The data acquisition and control systems installation was completed as well by the end of fall term, concluding with complete verification of software and procedures through extensive testing. After the team conducted the first cold flow tests during November, members worked on submitting project documentation to Base 11 for static hotfire approval. HALE was recently approved, and currently is one of only six schools approved for static test fire. After meeting these major project goals, the team diverted their attention toward preparation for the static test fire while helping fellow HALE subteams develop technology for the subscale rocket.

Project Team Member(s): 
Austin Gulstrom
Adam Ragle
Peter Strohmaier
Jacob Van de Lindt
College of Engineering Unit(s): 
Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering
Undergraduate Project
YouTube Video Link(s): 
Stellaris Cold Flow Test
Project Communication Piece(s): 
Industry Sponsor: 
Base 11 Space Challenge
Project ID: 
MIME9