Yale University Aerospace Association (YUAA) Project Liquid‘s mission is to develop a bi-propellant liquid rocket engine.
Elsa Durcan provided the following overview. “Project Liquid is the first initiative at Yale University to develop a bi-propellant engine capable of liquid propulsion. Since 2021, this multi-year endeavor has empowered undergraduates of all academic backgrounds to design, test, and iterate through complex engineering challenges in an accessible environment. As a result, our members gain invaluable experiences in their work to prepare them for internships and careers in the aerospace industry and beyond.
By prioritizing a hands-on and iterative design philosophy, members of all years machine,
handle, and assemble aerospace-grade hardware. Iterative testing ensures our members come
away with many valuable skills and experiences, from machining complex parts to dealing with
industrial vendors to building embedded control systems. In addition, our hands-on approach
better prepares members to work at highly competitive aerospace and non-aerospace companies alike.
Our current deliverable goal is to research, design, manufacture, and successfully static fire test a nitrous oxide/ethane liquid engine with regen-cooling capable of bringing a liquid rocket to
10,000 feet. Yale Project Liquid is designing this engine with a vehicle configuration in mind to
be taken to the Friend’s of Amateur Rocketry FAR-OUT Launch Competition either this
Summer or next. To achieve this, our intermediate goal was to design and test a gas-gas nitrous oxide/ethane augmented spark igniter. An augmented spark igniter at the highest level overview is effectively a very small rocket motor which generates minimal thrust and can be used to light a smaller engine.
