There's always improvements to be made to our propulsion systems. Here's a list of ideas that could be used to pick a project for a future year. Please add to it as you have ideas!

Better igniter design

Our current igniters work just fine, but they could probably be better. We could look into using nichrome bridgewires, a different combination of our current ingredients (quickburst, chunks of propellant, propellant dust), or a new pyrogen mixture like MTV (magnesium, teflon, viton), or BKNO3 pellets. Lots of quickly testable stuff here, but it all HAS to be done in the blast chamber for numerous reasons.

Igniter characterization

Figure out what is actually important about igniter design (pressure? temperature? action time? something else?). Build some apparatus to test igniters. This would probably be some sort of pressure vessel with adjustable volume/nozzle size that simulates the conditions inside of a motor but does not actually burn.

Better propellant characterization 

Develop more rigorous techniques to characterize propellant, which could include single shot characterization or a more simple scheme involving multiple nozzles. Either way, we should have a better understanding of how our propellant behaves in a variety of situations. It should also be easier to try new formulations so we can iterate more quickly.

Propellant rework

Look at the Ocean Water discussion section. Other changes could include adding compounds to improve ISP, such as (link to TRF thread).

Composite case

This would be a long term project, but the mass fraction gains would be massive. Get a filament winder, etc

Thinner wall case

This would be a much less difficult task than most other hardware redesigns, but would still provide decent performance gains. Improving insulation would still be important, but likely not as much as in a composite case. Unfortunately, unless a thinner wall is achieved by machining the outside of the case down, finding a liner would be difficult. This challenge could be overcome by working on the following suggestion, casebonding the propellant.

Casebonded motor

Attach the propellant directly to the inside of the case rather than using casting tubes and a liner. Provides better performance by increasing case volume loading. Requires new adhesive strategies and necessitates a monolithic design, which makes casting a challenge.

Better binder understanding

Develop a better understanding of what our binder is like. Do a mix with only liquids and use this result to calculate theoretical density more accurately. Monitor the batch frequently during cure to figure out how long we actually need to wait to demandrel. Experiment with removing/adding some of our processing agents, because we probably aren't doing it right. Figure out if expensive HTPB with HX-752 is essential or important at all. Maybe cheap stuff with tepanol or no extra additives would work just fine.