Callisto I

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General Information

Callisto I will be the first liquid bi-propellant rocket to be flown by Caelus Rocketry. Its primary mission is to test the avionics, software defined radio (SDR), video streaming, passive control systems, recovery systems, launchpad preparations, and launch procedures. As the first of the three Callisto rockets, Callisto I will be a major milestone in our progress to reaching the Karman line.

Statistics

Engine

Thrust

Oxidizer

Fuel

Oxidizer/Fuel Ratio

Pressurization

Specific impulse

Burn time

Chamber Pressure

Chamber Temperature

Ignition source

Recovery system

Altitude

Aphlex 1D

2600 N (584.5 lbs.)

Nitrous Oxide

Ethanol

1.8

Blowdown

160 sec

4.1 sec

200 psi

1616 K

Pyrotechnic charge

2 Stage Parachute

1.2 km (0.75 miles)

Progress

Nitrous Cold Flow

This is the second part of nitrous cold flow testing. In this test, we run nitrous oxide through our nitrous tower to verify our system, get pressure and temperature readings, and ensure a safe enviornment for testing with nitrous. Nitrous oxide is a rather dangerous chemical, so much safety regarding handling nitrous research needs to be completed in order to progress with our test.

Nitrous Cold Flow (Water)

In this test, we will run water pressurized with nitrogen gas through our nitrogen tower, mirroring that of our preliminary ethanol cold flow test. Our oxidizer, nitrous oxide, is self-pressurizing. This means that in a certain temperature range, liquid nitrous oxide will boil off and create a gas that exerts a pressure on the remaining nitrous oxide liquid. This means that unlike our fuel (ethanol), which requires a nitrogen tank to pressurize, nitrous oxide can pressurize itself and takes out the need for any K-bottle. However, since nitrous is a rather dangerous material, we have decided to first perform this preliminary nitrous oxide test where we replace the nitrous oxide with water and add in a nitrogen tank for pressurization.

Ethanol Cold Flow

In this test, we ran water pressurized with nitrogen gas through our Ethanol tower in order to verify our system and get readings on pressure and temperature. This cold flow test was our first major checkpoint to our way to Callisto 1 and required a great effort from each subsystem.

Planned

Static Engine Fire

In this test, we will run ethanol pressurized with nitrogen gas through our ethanol tower and nitrous oxide through our nitrous tower and feed these into the injector and into the combustion chamber, where they will ignite and go through the nozzle to get a reading on the thrust. This test has particular emphasis on ignition, injector functionality, and hazard prevention since it models what our actual rocket's interior will consist of.