March 29, 2016 – The Starscraper rocket awaits it’s 2017 launch in the lab of the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group. The rocket is 30 feet long and weighs roughly 1200 pounds. It will require the assistance of two liquid bi-propellant Lotus engines to make it to space. The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
March 29, 2016 – The door of the Boston University Rocket Propulsion lab sits ajar as group member Pete Andrews works late into the night. Taped to the glass is a front page Boston Globe article featuring the team’s recent accomplishments in rocket development. The group is working to assemble the newly developed liquid bi-propellant Lotus engine. Two of the Lotus engines will eventually be installed on the Starscraper, a 30 foot 1200 pound rocket, and launched from the Black Rock Desert in the summer of 2017. The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
“So far they have made some incredible progress. I am happy to have them here.””
The 62-Mile Climb
Jeremy Pedro and a team of Boston University engineers attempt the impossible as they construct the 30-ft. 1200 lb. Starscraper rocket. Day and night, the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group works to put the first university designed and constructed rocket into space; or 62-miles above the earth's surface. The team is racing to beat the extremely competitive University of Southern California rocket team, and plan to launch the rocket out of the Black Rock Desert in the summer of 2017. The following photos detail the testing of the liquid bi-propellant Lotus engine. Each engine (two total) must be put through a series of "hot fire" tests before the team can be confident in executing a test launch. With two successful "burns" so far, things are looking optimistic for the group of 18-21 year old students. ©Mike Schwarz
April 1, 2016 – Jeremy Pedro (left) and Tom Halstead (seated, right) work on the liquid bi-propellant Lotus engine unit in the lab of the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group. The engine is capable of 1500 lbf of thrust, and will help to launch the newly developed Starscraper rocket into space in the summer of 2017. The team is preparing the engine for an “hot fire” test scheduled for the weekend. “On a good night I like to get out of here around midnight, but most of the time it ends up being closer to 2-3a.m.,” Pedro said. “I would say there are around 10 to 15 active members that are almost always here. It’s a great place to hang out.” The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
“On a good night I like to get out of here around midnight, but most of the time it
ends up being closer to 2-3a.m.”
April 2, 2016 – Doug Lescarbeau, of the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group, grabs supplies from the U-Haul truck during a test run of the liquid bi-propellant Lotus engine. The rocket development team established a safe testing site in the town of Sudbury, Mass. about 35 minuets outside of Boston. Over the past four years they have conducted over 20 engine tests at this location, and plan to reach space by the summer of 2017. Two of the Lotus engines will eventually be installed on the Starscraper, a 30 foot 1200 pound rocket, and launched from the Black Rock Desert in the summer of 2017. The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
April 2, 2016 – Sam King (right), of the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group, signs a waiver given to him by Sudbury, Massachusetts town representative Timothy Coyne (left). “I sort of facilitated this relationship between the guys and the town of Sudbury,” Coyne said. “The waiver just helps us with liability, and ensuring nothing bad happens. So far they have made some incredible progress. I am happy to have them here.” The team established a safe testing site in the town of Sudbury, Mass. about 35 minuets outside of Boston. Over the past four years they have conducted over 20 engine tests at this location, and plan to reach space by the summer of 2017. The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
April 2, 2016 – Silvia Zhang, of the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group, works on the control panel before the “hot fire” test run of the liquid bi-propellant Lotus engine unit in Sudbury, Mass. “The panel is used to control and regulate all fluid systems of the test stand,” designer Jeremy Pedro said. “Three different fluids, Nitrous Oxide, Isopropyl Alcohol, and Gaseous Nitrogen, feed through the panel’s tubing, into the propellant tanks, and then to the engine.” Two of the Lotus engines will eventually be installed on the Starscraper, a 30-foot 1200-pound rocket, and launched from the Black Rock Desert in the summer of 2017. The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
April 2, 2016 – Doug Lescarbeau, of Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group, wipes water off the fire suppression system on a rainy test day in Sudbury, Mass. “The system is used in an aborted test scenario,” designer Jeremy Pedro said. “If the engine was to malfunction on the test stand, the fire suppression system would arm and dump water onto the engine and nearby surroundings.” The Lotus engine was assembled earlier in the week for a “hot fire” test run that day. Two of the Lotus engines will eventually be installed on the Starscraper, a 30-foot 1200-pound rocket, and launched from the Black Rock Desert in the summer of 2017. The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
April 2, 2016 – Cory Absi, an alumni of the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group, watches from the required distance of 120 yards moments before the “hot fire” test run of the newly developed Lotus engine in Sudbury, Mass. Two of the Lotus engines will eventually be installed on the Starscraper, a 30-foot 1200-pound rocket, and launched from the Black Rock Desert in the summer of 2017. The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
April 2, 2016 – Nitrous Oxide shoots out from the newly developed Lotus engine moments before a “hot fire” test is conducted by the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group in Sudbury, Mass. Two of the Lotus engines will eventually be installed on the Starscraper, a 30-foot 1200-pound rocket, and launched from the Black Rock Desert in the summer of 2017. The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
April 16, 2016 – A fire ball bursts from the newly developed Lotus engine during a “hot fire” test conducted by the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group in Sudbury, Mass. This was the first successful five-second test, and a monumental step forward for the university rocket team. Two of the Lotus engines will eventually be installed on the Starscraper, a 30-foot 1,200-pound rocket, and launched from the Black Rock Desert in the summer of 2017. The Boston University team is in a tight race with the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
April 2, 2016 – Jeremy Pedro (center), of the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group, grabs his first slice of pizza as data is recorded after the first successful “hot fire” test of the day. After three aborted attempts, and seven hours of prep, a two-second burn of the newly developed Lotus engine was achieved. Pedro and a team of around 15 engineers had been working since 11pm the previous night to complete the test. “We didn’t quit until 6am this morning,” Pedro said. “40 minutes of sleep, a quick coffee, and we were out here by 8:00am.” Sleepless nights like these are common for the Boston University team as they race the University of Southern California to be the first student designed and constructed rocket to reach space – or about 62 miles above the earth’s surface. ©Mike Schwarz
“We didn’t quit until 6am this morning,” Pedro said. “40 minutes of sleep, a quick coffee, and we were out here by 8:00am.”