UCI Rocket Project is seeking to develop the first ever bi-propellant liquid fueled engine for UCI. After receiving a $1.1 million donation from the non-profit group Base 11, we are receiving the necessary support and resources to be successful. We will be competing in the Friends of Ammeter Rocketry (F.A.R.) competition on 5 May, 2018 where we will seek to place first with a Methane-LOx engine where we stand to win up to $100,000 for the Henry Samueli School of Engineering.

In order to compete in the F.A.R. competition, we must develop a bi-propellant liquid fueled rocket that reaches an altitude of 45,000 feet. We must also have an engine with a specific impulse no greater than 9,208 lb-sec. Finally we must also carry and recover a 2.2lb payload undamaged which will be used as our scoring mechanism. Additionally we will be seeking to be included in the Mars competition which goes along with the F.A.R. competition. The only factor that changes for this competition is that our engine must be a Methane-LOx engine.

This year’s project has major implications for the future of rocketry at UCI. The challenges that go into designing, manufacturing, testing, and launching a liquid engine rocket will shape the team and provide us with a large pool of resources and experience that we can use in the future. We have been building relationships with industry professionals who are willing to help us with our designs. Additionally we have been acquiring information about manufacturers which will help us work faster and at a lower cost in the future. Additionally, on an individual level, each member of the team is gaining valuable design experience as each person is assigned to a specific component or system. This allows each member to be intricately involved in the engineering design process which will benefit each member in their future projects and careers.

In addition to being the first liquid fueled rocket at UCI, in using Methane as our fuel we are partaking in the ground breaking research of Methane as a possible fuel. There is an abundance of carbon dioxide found on Mars and it can be used to make methane. Due to this, methane may be the most practical fuel to use for a roundtrip mission to Mars so that fuel for the return mission would not have to be brought all the way from earth.