Bandit
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Propellants: LOX/Kerosene
Chamber Pressure: 200psia
Thrust: 300lbf
Specific Impulse: ~240s
Feed System: Electric Pumps
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An aluminum heatsink TCA is baseline due to cost constraints while regen is deferred for a future iteration. The heatsink is expected to support hotfires of 2-4s duration.
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Powered by a 1300W brushless DC motor, a modified hydraulic gear pump will supply kerosene to the main injector, igniter, and motor cooling circuits.
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The LOX pump is a more traditional centrifugal pump powered by a 4200W brushless DC motor.
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The igniter uses a spark device to ignite a small flow of propellant from the pumps, making a jet of hot gas for igniting the main combustion chamber.
Bandit is a small, electric pump fed, liquid-propellant rocket engine. Shown to the left is an early assembly of the engine. high-level design info can be seen above. Bandit is not intended to fly on a vehicle and is more of a hobbyist exercise in propulsion design and test. Below there is a blog thing where I upload periodic updates.
Development Milestones
March 2023 - Pathfinder electric centrifugal pump testing
May 2023 - First torch igniter hotfire
September 2023 - First full power fuel pump test
October 2023 - First LOX pump tests with water
November 2023 - TCA manufacturing
January 2024 - Test stand build, ground software, activation
February 2024 - Torch igniter hotfire campaign
May 2024 - LOX pump & injector testing with water
LOX Pump Circa 4/8/24
Site Director Observing Test Stand
Click Below to Read Progress Update Articles!!
Augmented Spark Igniter MR Sweep Test