Funding a summers worth (or more) of rocketry reseach and experiments

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." - Ralph waldo Emerson

Who are We and our story

I feel like something inspirational needs to go here after that quote, but really we’re just a few students who come up with random crazy ideas and then somehow develop these into actual working concept designs and testing plans.

The fact that we are working with rocket engines happens to mean that a lot of this involves setting stuff on fire or blowing something up (in controlled environment of course).

Some of these ideas stem from necessity such as needing to find alternatives for graphite nozzles or requiring a cooling system for nitrous oxide fuel systems in the desert. Others are random trains of though. A propane torch led to a reverse hybrid which led to a maple syrup/ethanol (yes really strong rum) reverse hybrid and supercharging paraffin hybrids. And others again come from unexpected places. I wanted to make a rocket out of crayons from which the rainbow rocket was born and someone mentioned the Rogallo wing as an alternative to a parachute as a joke. Two hours later a concept for a Rogallo wing was on paper.

Probably the most sensible and simplest thing we would like to do is get a Calisto (New name concept: Stop, Drop and Roll) flying, a rocket that was built by previous students. Most of the parts are there except the thing that makes it fly: the solid rocket motor.

Being able to test (and fly) these concepts would open up the gates for more detailed research and opportunities for us and future students. This crowdfunding drive is to get the ball rolling so we can get more people involved and more depth into the projects. Even just a few quid can help us out with the next test or get us a step towards flying a rocket.

Summary of the Project List and what the money will go towards:

Reverse Hybrid with maple syrup/ethanol
Supercharged Paraffin Hybrid
Nozzle material testing to find alternatives for graphite
Get Calisto (aka Stop, Drop and Roll) flying
Nitrous Oxide Cooling system
Rogallo wing
Rainbow Hybrid

Rewards

Sadly we don't have much to offer as rewards at the moment except for our crazy enthusiasm, getting updates, pictures and videos on any tests, projects, etc. that we do! We may be able to offer old test pieces once some live to tell the tale! We highly appreciate any contribution and hope that we can offer better rewards in the future in line with specific projects!