The University of California (UC) at Davis, Aggie Propulsion & Rocketry Lab (APRL) is is a student-run liquid rocketry team of over 50 members. As of 2025, we are working towards building and launching UC Davis’s first-ever bi-propellant liquid-fueled rocket. Our project enables students at Davis to design, build, test, and launch rockets for years to come. We aim to make liquid rocketry accessible to all students regardless of background or experience, create a community of like-minded individuals sharing their passion for space and rocketry, and push the boundaries of undergraduate rocketry and propulsion.
In 2024, APRL performed its first-ever hot-fire tests, firing its “Mu1” and “Mu2” engines. The 775 lbf Kerosene-LOX-fueled engines were fed by our “Mu1 Test Stand”, which utilized SECO SEALS SECO7 37° Flare Gaskets extensively across its feed system. During the early stages of the feed system’s development, the stand’s usage of stainless steel tubing made it difficult to form flares, leading to frequent leaks across the system. This was especially true at the high-pressure Nitrogen lines, which experienced pressures of up to 3000 psia. The implementation of SECO’s SECO7 Flare Gaskets has since greatly remedied these leakage problems, accelerating our test program immensely, allowing us to meet critical deadlines, and enabling our first hot-fire tests. The Aggie Propulsion & Rocketry Lab plans to continue utilizing SECO SEALS products in its future propulsion projects.
