Imperial College London Rocketry (ICLR) — I am an active member of the Imperial College London Rocketry Society. At EuRoC 2024 we achieved the competition’s first successful liquid-propellant launch in the 3 km class. My work focused on external aerodynamics and the manufacture of flight hardware, particularly the nosecone and canard panels, designed in Fusion 360 with CNC-machined moulds. The canards and the nosecone were fiberglass/epoxy and carbon-fiber/epoxy lay-ups respectively.
The vehicle is powered by a liquid engine in which fuel and oxidiser are stored separately, metered through valves, mixed and ignited in a chamber, and expanded through a nozzle to produce thrust. Unlike a solid motor, the flow can be controlled during the run, but this demands reliable plumbing, ignition, thermal protection, and stable combustion.