We’re now one month into the new year! Roughly one year ago we decided to go for EXPLORE, a demonstrator propelled with liquid oxygen (LOx) and solid paraffin-based fuel. Here is an overview over the current status:

The development of the avionics hard- and software is running in high gear. For the first time in HyEnD history, a self-made flight computer shall take control of the most critical functions during flight. First prototypes of many electrical subsystems are already built and about to be tested thoroughly. As for the structure, we have manufactured the tip and have a prototype of a CFK-tank for the LOx. After its ascent, the rocket shall be recovered via a recovery system containing a main parachute and a smaller one for pulling out the first one. It’s now in its final design stage. While some components are already ordered others are being prepared to be manufactured soon. Also, a wind tunnel test campaign is currently being planned, which will finish the development process of the new recovery system of EXPLORE. Very challenging is the design of the fluid system because the oxygen will have gaseous and liquid phases when being transferred to the tanks before the launch and then to the combustion chamber during flight. Safety measures like a mechanic and electronic release valve as well as a burst plate need to be included. Those components are still in a design and re-design process. Gaseous nitrogen under high pressure will deliver the LOx to the combustion chamber. Because of the high pressure, there needs to be a pressure regulator. We already tested a sophisticated design at 50 bar but currently re-designing it to make it lighter and qualify it for 300 bar. At the moment we are looking for suitable sensors for checking the pressure and temperature. Also time-consuming is the development of the engine. A whole thesis concentrated on its first design steps and main parts like the showerhead-injector and pre-combustion chamber are already manufactured. Current stage is the preparation of the test bench. We hope that tests in March will give us promising results on its performance. We also hope that you had a great start in 2019!