Subteam Leads
Year | Lead |
|---|---|
| Fall 2014 - Summer 2015 | Matt V. |
| Fall 2015 - Summer 2017 | Zach B. |
| Fall 2017 - Summer 2018 | Sam A. |
| Fall 2018 - Summer 2019 | Ethan S. |
Fall 2019 | Vittorio C. |
| Fall 2019 | Charlie G. |
| Spring 2020 - Summer 2020 | Julia G. |
| Fall 2020 - Present | David v.W. |
Overview
"Propulsion" refers to the subteam that provides the systems necessary to accelerate the vehicle.
MIT Rocket Team operates both commercial and custom propulsion systems. The development of our in-house propulsion started in the fall of 2015 with an extensive review of local, federal, and University regulations on making rocket motors. Over the summer of 2016 several students conducted research on Project Firefly. Project Firefly graciously allowed us to develop our fuel in tandem with their research. We gained access to their test facilities in exchange for access to our mixing facilities and storage depots. This first propellant formulation was called Xaphan Blue.
Starting in the fall of 2017 as part of Project Hermes, the propulsion team developed a new series of propellant formulations including Ocean Water, Cherry Limeade, and Kickstart. These propellants have each been built off of the knowledge the team gained from their precursors and have been our steps towards high performance, low cost, a pourable solid propellant for use in 4-6" diameter motors in the 10-100 kilonewton-second range.
In Spring 2020 the staging demonstrator proved to be successful. Project Pheonix was born! A two-stage Rocket with in-flight ignition that will let us prepare for a space shot.
The Prop Bible (Prible)
Current Project
More information about the contributions of the solid propulsion team on Pheonix can be found here.
Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS)
COTS motors are proven systems, purchased from reputable vendors. They can be flown at all launches with a suitable waiver. Find out more about them here.
Custom Propulsion Systems
The team also to pursues custom propulsion systems. For these motors, we build all components in house including motor hardware and propellant. These motors can only be flown at Tripoli affiliated clubs or independent launch events.
Combustion Chronicles
Propellant Formulas
| Name | Description | Used | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xaphan Blue | The team's first propellant. | Spring 2017 | Static Fired |
| Ocean Water | Developed during the Fall 2017 semester to replace XB. Focused on performance rather than appearance. | Fall 2017 - Summer 2018 | Characterized, Static Fired, Flown |
| Cherry Limeade | Designed by applying the knowledge we gained from OW. It is a slower burning, a higher-performing propellant that is as pourable as OW. | Fall 2018 - Spring 2019 | Characterized, Static Fired, Flown. |
| Kickstart | Minor modifications to CL that we hope will make it more appropriate for the production of large-scale monolithic motors. | Spring 2019 - Present | Characterized, Static Fired. |