Lodamun

[imperialpearl]

At the now completed rocket engine propulsion facility at the Venfield Space Flight Centre in Barrington, scientists and engineers connected to the various projects under the broader Lodamese Space Programme gathered to conduct a series of tests on three (3) engines developed by the five universities initially tasked with developing innovative rocket engines for the LSA’s small to heavy-lift programmes. The day represented the culmination of months of work by the various universities, engineers and their respective supervisors in building three classes of rocket engines, specifically built for the Lodamese Space Programme’s future small, medium and heavy-lift launch vehicles. Following the announcement that the Lodamese Space Administration (LSA) would ultimately partner with the likes of numerous universities, the agency and other partners (i.e. the SDA and Lodamese Air Force), expressed interest in maintaining launch vehicles in varying classes, ranging from small to heavy lift. Although much of the work related to the design and subsequent construction of these launch vehicles continues, the construction of their engines nonetheless points to the programme crossing a crucial milestone. “I think this is an extremely important moment for everyone involved in the various projects. We have been hard at work for the better part of the past five years, having spent some 4-5 billion LOD in research and development on these engines. It is certainly a lot to take in as we now put them through their first and a series of tests to determine whether our designs are fit for purpose,” Dr Anthony Carr, Principal Engineer/Project Manager for the Medium-Lift Engine Development Programme (MLEDP), explained

Engineering students from the Drumford University partnered with the rocketry startup firm, Doyle Aerospace on the development of the Rapier 1 engine. In designing the engine, particular emphasis was placed on reliability and whether sufficient quantities could be produced within a short time period. It represents a unique innovation in rocket engineering, in that it utilises electric pumps instead of the conventional gas generators. Conventional rocket engines, particularly those of the “open cycle” variant, are primarily powered by gas generators, which require some fraction of input propellant to feed much of the engine’s combustion cycle. This ultimately makes the engine less efficient as the opportunity cost of diverting propellant to power the gas generator reduces the amount available for primary thrust. In the case of Rapier 1, it uses electric pumps, ultimately eliminating the need for a gas generator for the oxidiser pump. Project Manager for the Small-Lift Engine Development Programme (SLEDP) and a Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Drumford University, Dr Nolan Galloway, stated that the Rapier needed to be as efficient as possible, recognising its relative importance to the future of the Lodamese Space Programme. "Although one could underscore the importance of medium to super-heavy lift capabilities in advancing the space programme, small lift capabilities will undoubtedly be the backbone of the LSA’s activities. From launching satellites to scientific probes, we [Lodamun] will be launching these smaller pieces of equipment into orbit with greater frequency than, say, pods for some future space station,” Dr Galloway remarked. “We’re excited to see how the engine does under the static firing test. We aren’t concerned with build quality as we have a unique emphasis on quality assurance.”

Having structured the engine development programme such that each lift category would ultimately inform the following, the medium-lift programme had been informed by the pioneering work done in the SLEDP. Both the University of St. Christopher and the Berkwaki State University collaborated on the Titan rocket engine alongside Burrell Systems. The engine had taken significant inspiration from an engine BS had designed but had never manufactured for operational use. There had been some controversy surrounding the engine as it had been the centre of a dispute between Burrell engineers and UoSC and BSU engineers, with the former being in favour of a gas generator and the latter being in favour of expanding on the SLEDP’s work for an electric generator. The dispute was ultimately settled as both came to an agreement on a gas generator owing to the fact that a gas generator would provide a medium-lift launch vehicle with instantaneous power generation alongside a higher power density. “Engines under the MLEDP are primarily designed with a focus on delivering varying cargo into LTO (Low Terran Orbit) and GTO (geostationary transfer). As I understand it, these rockets and their launch vehicles will be wholly responsible for the building out of COSMO (Coordinated Orbital Satellite Mapping and Orientation), Lodamun’s indigenous global positioning system,” Dr Anthony Carr explained. The Titan is an expander cycle engine, wherein the engine's combustion chamber is cooled by the fuel, which absorbs heat and changes phase. Before being fed into the combustion chamber and consumed, the heated and gaseous fuel first powers the turbine that powers the engine's fuel and oxidiser pumps. Similar to the Rapier 1 rocket, the Titan will undergo a similar static firing test to stress test the engine’s initial design, as Dr Carr anticipates that the group may have to return to the design board owing to some “teething issues.”

Being the most complex of the three lift categories, Newchester Institute of Technology partnered with Hemlock-Rogway on the development of the XS-44, their proposal for a rocket engine for the Heavy-Lift Engine Development Programme (HLEDP). Much of the R&D for the project had primarily originated from NIT, which had worked previously with both Hemlock-Rogway and Hudson & Pike on engines for C-5 Galaxy. Engineers noted that although the task of developing an engine with enough thrust to take heavy cargo into orbit was daunting, it was nonetheless a “refreshing” experience. “For our students and a lot of the guys at Hemlock-Rogway and Hudson & Pike, this was a refreshing experience as we were ultimately forced to bring our collective heads together to design something based on concepts made by H&P engineers decades prior,” Dr Ben Kirkland, a Professor of Aerospace Engineering at NIT and the HLEDP’s Principal Engineer.