Emerson reported June 10 that it's sponsoring the interdisciplinary Texas Rocket Engineering Laboratory (TREL) in the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin. It will donate Tescom regulators that TREL's students will use to fabricate their historic Halcyon rocket that's more than twice as long as average collegiate rockets, with a 2022 launch goal that’s 338,000 feet higher than the current record for a bipropellant, liquid-propulsion rocket. More than 300 engineers and aerospace participants at TEL have worked on the project since rough sketches began two years ago.
The regulators will enable the Halcyon rocket’s onboard fluid systems. Some will maintain pressure levels in the fuel and oxidizer tanks during engine ignition, while others will manage the pressure of the reaction control system and the purge system that will shut down the engine post-burn. These Tescom products include: 26-2000 Series air actuated regulator piloted by an ER5000 Series electro-pneumatic PID controller for automated, precision control of fuel tank pressures; 44-1500 Series pressure regulator on top of the rocket to control pressure to the reaction control stabilization (RCS) system; 44-1300 Series pressure regulator to control the main engine cut off (MECO); and BB-1 Series miniature pressure regulator to maintain the pneumatic supply to several components, including the ER5000 PID controllers.
“Getting to partner directly with and be supported by Emerson in our mission to launch Halcyon is incredibly exciting for our (fluid systems) team at the Texas Rocket Engineering Lab,” says Roman Stromeyer, UT Austin aerospace engineering master’s degree student and Halcyon team member. “These pressure regulators will control all the critical functions of our vehicle and enable us to successfully carry out our suborbital flight to space—a groundbreaking accomplishment for collegiate rocketry.”
