USC LPL Fires a Gimballed KeroLOX Regen Rocket Engine*

*It wasn't supposed to gimbal at the end, but it made it look cooler.
April 29, 2023
USC Liquid Rocketry have been steadily developing their mastery of DMLS with their latest 3D printed KeroLOX motor "Mike's Fury". The 675lbf motor performed admirably, keeping cool to the touch even after an intense 8 second burn. This was checked first using a sophisticated $7 IR thermometer before applying the finger wrenches.
At the very end of the burn, near burnout, the motor began to gimbal wildly as some of the nuts came loose. They were fastened with single nuts as incorrect bolt and threaded rod lengths proved to be the signature problem of the day. Spare fasteners prove to be a commodity of vastly fluctuating value in the desert, and some scrounging had to be done to look through the spare parts left behind by years of experimental rocketry. Regardless, this unexpected vectoring caused no issues, and the motor remained steady for the steady state portion of the burn. The 0.25 speed video was recorded at 120fps, but the low light conditions appeared to affect the recording in a way that doesn't normally happen in daytime, so lots of frames appear to drop during the transition periods.
Also featured here is Eric's new water cooled flame deflector, welded up out of steel with radiator fins inside the triangular reservoir. An even newer and better version is in the works, and may work well with the usual dryness of the desert.
A loose nut can be secured, and with the motor performing so well, and with such a sleek profile, the USC team may want to consider printing out a few dozen and start launching like mad.

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