Project MOXY
Chief Engineer
May 2023 - Present
For the 2023-24 academic year, M51 Space will embark on its most ambitious effort to date, a suborbital-scale hybrid rocket engine called MOXY. The engine will generate 2300 Newtons of thrust using gaseous oxygen as its oxidizer and a paraffin/HTPB composite fuel grain. During the summer of 2023, I led a group of 4 M51 senior members and dedicated our efforts to MOXY’s high-level design, project timeline development, and budgeting to ensure that we safely reach our goals on time and on budget. Our test site has been confirmed, recruiting for new roles is underway, and detailed design and analysis are progressing quickly!
I work very closely with each subteam lead to ensure I maintain a deep understanding of all aspects of the project. Although a lot of what I present here is the result of a collaborative effort, I understand every detail and research-backed reason behind the design
I also frequently collaborate with my subteam leads on difficult problems to spread the workload and show my team that I am a resource for them.
My responsibilities as Chief Engineer:
Ensure our high-standards for safety, design, and dedication are maintained.
Preparing for transition to academic year
Developed a free Project Lifecycle Management system for CAD
Recruitment objectives and plan
Poster distribution
In-class recruitment presentations
Campus table event
Gantt chart creation
Summer Design Progress
Weekly work sessions with members to ensure goals are met
Preliminary research and project set-up
Determined project goals
Task delegation
Engine high-level design interactive Excel
Research guides for project members
Budget management
Shown below is all the work completed over the summer for the combustion chamber, injector, nozzle, fluid system, and sensors & controls. As Chief Engineer, I worked directly on all aspects of the projects.
Click the images to view slideshows in PDF.
Useful Excel Sheets
Combustion Chamber Dimensioning Excel Sheet
An Excel sheet that I created with my team member that calculates all dimensions and characteristics of a rocket engine given standard properties. A link to the Excel sheet is provided upon request.
Research Guide Full Document Link
A screenshot of the full document shown. I have read every paper linked in that document.
Orifice Sizing Using SPI Model Excel Sheet
An Excel sheet I created with my team member that calculates injector orifice dimensions and properties given calculations from the Combustion Chamber Dimensioning Excel Sheet. A link to the Excel sheet is provided upon request.
An interactive high-level design tool that calculates engine characteristics and rocket capabilities given known parameters.
Project Budget Excel
Created a budget sheet to make useful fundraising goals
CAD Project Lifecycle Management
Created a free project lifecycle management system for CAD. It uses an Excel sheet to check in or out assemblies and a Google Drive folder to store all CAD versions