2000-2003. Currently Inactive.

The Hybrid Rocket Group truely aims high. Although we are not yet planning to enter any specific competitions, we are determined to continue to build high performance - record breaking - rockets. Some of the latest concepts in rocket propulsion are being applied to the design of a hybrid powered rocket.

A hybrid rocket involved the combustion of two different phases of matter - it is a rather unproven technology that offers a wealth of potentional in terms of performance and safety. The hybrid motor we are developing uses compressed liquid Nitrous Oxide (N2O a.k.a. laughing gas) and an organic compound such as rubber or tar. The use of such chemicals offer greater combustion efficiency and thrust than conventional gunpowder or other solid propellant rockets. The second, and perhaps most important, benefit of a hybrid motor is the inherient safety of the propellant chemicals - laughing gas alone is practically harmless (ie it does not ignite or readily support combusiton) and the other organic portion like a rubber or plastic is also harmless. Only when the two propellants are combined properly in the engine will combustion occur.

We have had a lot of success testing our scale model hybrid engine with tar coated paper as fuel and nitrous oxide as oxidizer, see the below links for videos of our static tests. This year we will complete the construction of our full scale hybrid rocket (over ten feet tall) that utilizes upwards of 300 pounds of thrust to carry an array of sensors and a color video camera to an estimated altitude of 100,000 ft! Our ultimate goal is to design and build a rocket capable of launching a small payload into low earth orbit.