In a year defined by obstacles, a student rocket team persevered. Working together across five time zones, they successfully designed a hybrid rocket engine that uses paraffin and a novel nitrous oxide-oxygen mixture called Nytrox.

«Hybrid propulsion powers Virgin Galactic’s suborbital tourist spacecraft and the development of that engine has been challenging. Our students are now experiencing those challenges first hand and learning how to overcome them,» said faculty adviser to the team Michael Lembeck.

Last year the team witnessed a number of catastrophic failures with hybrid engines utilizing nitrous oxide. The propellant frequently overheated in the New Mexico desert, where the IREC competition is held. Lembeck said this motivated the team to find an alternative fuel that could remain stable at temperature. Nytrox surfaced as the solution to the problem.

As the team began working on the engine this past spring semester, excitement to conduct hydrostatic testing of the ground oxidizer tank vessel quickly turned to frustration as the team lacked a safe test location.

Team leader Vignesh Sella said, «We planned to conduct the test at the U of I’s Willard airport retired jet engine testing facility. But the Department of Aerospace Engineering halted all testing until safety requirements could be met.»

Sella said they were disheartened at first, but rallied by creating a safety review meeting along with another student rocket group to examine their options.

Story Source: Materials provided by University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.