If the ignitor is confirmed operating, open the thrust valves at zero.
We're expecting a burn to completion on the oxidizer tank which should last about five
seconds if all goes well.
At MIT we're challenged everyday with our problem sets, projects, and exams.
There have been many many late nights.
But what gets you through it all are those moments where you get a chance to escape.
Are cameras rolling?
Okay.
Alright we're going to pressurize the propellant tanks.
Those moments where you're able to do what you're passionate about, destress, get excited,
and gain perspective as to why you're doing this all to begin with.Okay and both tanks
are holding 800 psi.
Yeah we're pretty busy here as Aerospace Engineering students, but we have really cool people here
and have the facilities so why not start a tech youtube channel and why not build a rocket
engine and test fire it Southern California?
Okay 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, start ignitor, 3, 2, 1...
Hi guys, it's KJ the MiTechGuy here and if you're new to my 'Day in the Life of an MIT
student' series it's a series where I show you what Ido on a daily basis and also give
you honest insights as to what life as an MIT Aerospace Engineering student is like.
As I mentioned in an earlier video, I'm still in IAP or MIT's independent activities period,
where basically we get the whole month of January off and we can do anything from just
go home, go to class or test a rocket engine.
Today, I came out to the desert to see Sam test fire the rocket engine that he's been
working really hard on for quite some time now.
It's actually really impressive, and he's solely responsible for everything from ordering
all of the necessary parts and supplies to manufacturing every piece, even the bolt holes.
He was even able to use his knowledge from thermo, fluids, and structures to crunch the
numbers and make sure everything was going to work here at the test site.
He flew all the way out here to Southern California for this very test and I think he's really
proud of everything he was able to accomplish.
I'm excited and a bit nervous.
We don't know what's going to happen.
This is a completely new piece of hardware.
The thing is the test stand has been tested before and it is the same I-beam, same place.
So there's some unknowns and new things, but we're just going to see what's going to happen.
So Ihad this trip on my calendar for several months back in September or October when of
course the engine wasn't done yet.
So of course I had to progress with some faith to get the engine, get all of the hardware
done before that date arrive and I think back when Iwas flying out to California and I was
on the plane.
The engine had made it through security.
It was like seven in the morning, I was super tired.
But Icould sort of just sit back and relax knowing that everything that I had done had
paid off so far.
I was on my way to California and I could look forward to what lies ahead.
The desert is a great place to test rockets because there's nothing around that we or
the rocket itself can harm.
So right now, this site is used a lot by rocket lovers like Sam to test their rockets.
Quite a bit of people came out to see Sam fire his engine, because we all knew how important
it was to him.
Also, the man made a rocket engine himself and that's really cool.
So this is a liquid propellant rocket engine, meaning that the fuel and oxidizer, the propellants,
are stored and injected into the combustion chamber as liquids.
For the fuel, I'm using kerosene.
Kerosene is super cheap and really easily available.
It has a high energy and is a common propellant among commercial and amateur liquid rocket
engines alike.
For the oxidizer, I'm using liquid oxygen.
Liquid oxygen, is a cryogenic fluid and because it is an incredibly good oxidizer.
We're just putting a little bit of sealant here.
So there's a hole on the side of the combustion chamber where I will put a pressure sensor
in to sense the pressure, and so I have put just a little bit of sealant in there to make
sure the gasses don't escape.
So when the gases leave the exit plane of the rocket engine, they are traveling over
six thousand miles an hour at over half the temperature of the sun.
You can just imagine the amount of energy that the combustion reaction releases.
And that energy is used to produce useful thrust through this rocket nozzle.
So what's left Sam?
So it's about two o'clock, and we just have to do some final checks on the test stand
electrical control system, so we just hooked everything up and there's an issue with two
of the valves.
One is the valve for pressurizing the propellant tanks.
The other is the valve for venting the fuel tank.
Those valves for some reason, when we flip the switch, I don't hear the click of the
relay signifying that it's actually actuated.
We did do an ignition test of the ignitor.
the ignitor seems to be doing well and should be pretty good for the test.
At this point, we'll be waiting for UCLA.
They're doing some final checks on their check stand to see if they can actually fire today
or if they have to stand down.Once they're clear, their test stands, we'll start debugging.
We have a trusty multimeter in hand.
So we'll see if we can make things work.
You know it would help if you plugged this in.
We sort of debugged some problems and it came down to plugging in an ethernet cable.
I forgot to plug in the cable from the switch box into the test stand.
Sometimes it just comes down to small issues like that.
Make sure to double check your checklists.
The oxidizer vent valve, in 3, 2, 1.
And then I'm going to ask someone to actuate the main press valve.
All clear, so let's activate the press valve.
"PV"?
Yes PV.
Cool.
Alright, ready to load the propellants.
LOX fill valve is open, vent valve is open, We're ready to fill.
Let's start slow.
It takes a little while because it's all cryo right now so this whole tank has to come up
to pressure.
So when you're loading propellants into the test stands.
You've finished the final checks.
You've finished the control system checkouts and you made sure all fo the valves were working.
You're almost ready to test.
And as I'm sitting there, I'm just thinking of all of the different things that could
go wrong.
There's so many of them.
You could have contamination of propellant line, you can have some leak of the propellant
line, you're chamber could suffer an over-pressure at start up, but as I'm thinking of these
things, I'm also thinking about the fact that I'm 3000 miles from home, and I have one shot
on this winter afternoon in Southern California, and I'm thinking that I wouldn't be here if
I hadn't prepared myself for the last four months for this one day.
And for putting my best foot forward and best work for every single machining operation
and for every single calculation that was made with the best that I could offer.
I think that's the best anyone can do.
The fact that we're at MIT, you are given these opportunities, makes you realize why
not put your best foot forward?
Why not put in the best work you could offer every single day?
I walk down the infinite corridor or to my classes and I'm just surrounded by these awesome
people, awesome opportunities, and I just really want to take advantage of all of them.
If you don't have the time to do them correctly, when are you going to find the time to do
it over again?
Time is precious.
Our AeroAstro department is known to challenge its students by throwing them into the fire
with projects and problem sets.
During our sophomore year, we had two semester-long projects that we worked on in small, randomly-assigned
teams.
The first semester, we had to optimize a water-powered rocket to carry as much payload as possible
to fly at least 90 meters.
During the second semester, we built large remote-controlled airplanes from scratch with
the purpose of delivering pizza.
We had to optimize the planes to carry the most pizza slices as possible.
I personally didn’t know how to optimize on MATLAB or how to use a foam cutter to cut
wings, but we had a task to get done, so we learned along the way, and ended up with two
successful projects that we can pride ourselves in having built.
So when Sam is thousands of miles from home with only one chance to get the rocket engine
static fire right, he can stay confident knowing that whatever may go wrong, he has the tools
to troubleshoot the issues.
Ox drain valve is closed, fuel drain valve is closed, thrust valve is closed, ignitor
is installed.
We're going to crank open the K-bottle to full.
Okay so we should have full flow from the k-bottle.
I think we just knew we were ready to fire.
...At the five second mark.
And if the ignitor is confirmed operating, open the thrust valve at zero.
We're expecting a burn to completion on the oxidizer tank which should last about five
seconds if all goes well.
Are cameras rolling?
Everybody ready to go?
Okay.
Alright we're going to pressurize the propellant tanks.
Okay and both tanks are holding eight hundred psi.
Okay 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, start ignitor, 3, 2, 1, ignition!
Some people ask me if it's worth it.
The thousands of dollars, the late nights in the machine shop, the trip all the way
out here, just for three seconds of fire.
But I think the feeling of doing all of the calculations, checking all of the calculations,
machining the parts, assembling the engine, bringing it out to this test stand, and then
watching it erupt in this brilliant display of energy, this release of energy.
The fire, smoke, and the pressure.
You can feel the shock waves hit you during the operation.
And I feel like that feeling is pretty incredible.
It's worth every penny.
3, 2, 1, ignition!
Test status saved!
We got it!
Oh!
Alright, we got it!
"That was awesome!"
There we go, there we go!
Oh my gosh.
I don't believe it.
That was so great!
Oh yeah!
"Good job" Okay there we go guys.
"How do you feel?"
It was incredible.
I mean I just... there were so many things that could go wrong with this type of project
and I mean I was sort of thinking through those things in the last few seconds, and
I just can't believe it.
Surviving the rigor of MIT Aerospace Engineering, or other rigorous academic programs anywhere,
takes a lot of self awareness.
This involves being self aware of when you need to take breaks, nap, eat, or sleep.
But it also involves having the self awareness to know what you’re actually passionate
about.
Outside of simply finding an academic field you’re passionate about to major in, finding
something that you can do outside of classes that you’re really passionate about will
help you navigate those really stressful times.
For me, I’ve said I really enjoy playing basketball, working out, looking into new
tech in the world, and making videos about the cool tech I encounter.
For Sam, he enjoys running, and is also very passionate about rockets.
So he joined MIT’s Rocket Team, became a leader in the team, and even started his own
projects like this one.
And to him, rockets are something that he can focus on and have fun with outside of
class, where there aren’t any extra grades attached to worry about.
It sounds kind of weird to say, but I think he’s really at peace when he’s working
on rockets, and I can only imagine how proud and accomplished he felt when he completed
a project like he did that day.
If you want to learn a little more about the entire process that he had to go through to
make this rocket engine, I’m going to link his recap video down below.
Go check out his channel!
So if you’re in school right now, understand that if you’re not in the right mental state
to take on rigorous classes, you’ll just end up struggling even more.
Go out and find something you’re really passionate about, whether it is playing sports,
dancing, or building rockets.
At the end of the day, you’ll feel better, and you’ll be much better equipped, mentally,
to go tackle your classes and the assignments and stresses that go along with those classes.
This YouTube channel means a lot more to me than money or fame.
It gives me a chance to escape the stresses of school.
I can temporarily shift my attention to the latest and greatest tech products that I am
fascinated about, and I can learn a lot about them, and create awesome videos for people
all around the world to enjoy.
Making videos and continually growing this channel is very time consuming, but it is
so fulfilling that I would spend those hours time and time again.
Find what you really love to do, go pursue it, and you’ll inevitably meet some amazing
people who share similar passions to you.
With YouTube, I’ve gotten to meet iJustine, Jaime Rivera, Michael Fischer, and so many
genuine and nice company representatives who have given me the opportunity to go to launch
events and review new tech that I’ve always been interested in.
In Sam’s case, he has created lifelong friendships through rocketry, and he has also been able
to use his rocket knowledge in his internships at SpaceX.
So that's it.
I hope you really enjoyed episode 4 of "A Day in the Life of an MIT Aerospace Engineering
Student".
I worked really hard on this video so if you liked it, it would mean a lot to me to like
this video, and share this to other people who you think would find this video interesting.
If you haven't already, follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and DM me on those platforms
and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible.
As for this channel, I have a lot of really cool videos planned, so make sure you're subscribed
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As always, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next video.