Altair Manufacturing Continues
Team members (mostly freshman) help machine launch tower brackets
Altair’s main booster fin can, housing Northstar V2, has been cut to length and sanded! Fabrication has also begun on SLU RPL’s brand-new launch tower, which will support Altair during launch and fill operations. We’ve kicked things off with rust removal, painting, and the manufacturing of mounting brackets for the launch rail.
Fun fact — I actually found this tower on Facebook Marketplace as an old antenna tower and drove it two hours home with six feet sticking out of my truck bed! Excited to see how this GSE setup comes together.
Meanwhile, Northstar V2 is moving toward component manufacturing now that all stock and tubing have arrived. We’re aiming for a late November hot fire test, with pressure tests planned for late October or early November.
On a personal note- it’s incredibly encouraging to see both new and returning members diving into this project. What started as a dream at Spaceport 2024 has grown into a lab full of 20+ dedicated engineers carrying forward the vision I began. Seeing our lab truly live up to its name “the Rocket Propulsion Lab” makes me so proud.
Altair Northstar manufacturing begins
Carbon fiber body tube post winding, wrapped in perforated heat shrink tape
Altair the flight vehicle and Northstar’s design has been completed save a few minor discrepancies. Altair is made up of two main airframe sections with the lower airframe consisting of the fin can, engine, plumbing bay, and the nitrous tank. above the nitrous tank a transition brings the vehicle diameter down to 4 inches from 6
Early this morning carbon fiber filament winding was completed for the lower airframe section, test prints for our acrylic fuel grain were also successful. We have most construction material on order and v2 engine and tank manufacturing should be starting within the next week or two.
Additionally stay tuned to this thread, Northstar V2 is planned to have a test fire by the end of November.
Thanks!
-Jimmy