Team Members:
- Derek Basta (RIT Student)
- Justin Silva (RIT Student)
- Brahm Soltes (RIT Student)
- Derek Labasi (Unlicensed)
- Kevin McDonough (Unlicensed)
- caw5317
Project Mission:
RL-36 is the Propulsion team's first attempt at a liquid rocket engine.Launch Initiative’s first liquid bipropellant rocket engine. The engine is a reaction control system (RCS) that can be implemented for trajectory and attitude control of a space vehicle. The thrust is 36 lbf, which is in the thrust range of RCSs for small satellites. Like most auxiliary engines, RL-36 uses a gas pressure-fed, blow-down feed system. The project is a test platform for future liquid engines that the team plans to integrate into competition rockets.
Expected Timeline:
Finish manufacturing combustion chamber: 11/16/20
Finish assembling feed system: 2/1/21
Finish programming control system: 2/22/21
Cold flow test: 2/27/21
Hot fire test: 3/13/21