Columbia Space Initiative Hybrid Rocket Program
- Problem
- Develop and fly a 6-inch hybrid rocket while integrating propulsion, structures, avionics, and recovery.
- Role
- Propulsion contributor, combustion chamber lead, and later rocket project lead.
- Method
- Combined nozzle analysis, simulation, hardware fabrication, subsystem testing, and team integration.
- Result
- The team completed its first 6-inch hybrid flight at Spaceport America Cup; nozzle performance deltas are simulation-only.
- Status
- Program concluded in 2023; outcomes reflect team work, with individual contributions described by role.
Project Narrative
This project tracks my technical growth from first-principles nozzle analysis to full program leadership of Columbia's first 6-inch hybrid rocket flight. Across four academic years, the work evolved from isolated propulsion geometry to integrated systems execution: nozzle design, combustion architecture, static-fire validation, and finally launch operations at Spaceport America Cup.
The through-line was consistent: identify the dominant failure mode, quantify it, redesign around it, and close the loop in hardware. Early work focused on shock behavior near the throat and expansion contour limits. Mid-program work shifted into injector, chamber, instrumentation, and hot-fire correlation. Senior-year work expanded into team-level systems engineering, structural redesign, and flight readiness for a 50+ member organization.
Freshman Year (2019-2020): Foundations in Hybrid Propulsion
Moved from textbook compressible flow to implemented nozzle hardware.
As a propulsion member focused on nozzle development, I designed the first pressure-optimized graphite nozzle architecture (Ae/At about 4.8-5.1) and translated compressible-flow theory into manufacturable geometry. CFD exposed early shock behavior near the throat, and FEA established first-pass structural and thermal margins. I also machined GEN 1 nozzle hardware and an aluminum modular support, turning analysis into real components.
As a propulsion member focused on nozzle development, I designed the first pressure-optimized graphite nozzle architecture (Ae/At about 4.8-5.1) and translated compressible-flow theory into manufacturable geometry. CFD exposed early shock behavior near the throat, and FEA established first-pass structural and thermal margins. I also machined GEN 1 nozzle hardware and an aluminum modular support, turning analysis into real components.
Sophomore Year (2020-2021, Remote): Computational Redesign
Turned a qualitative flow-separation issue into a quantified model comparison.
During the remote year, the propulsion workflow became CFD-driven and iteration-heavy. I redesigned the expanding parabolic contour (GEN 2), pushed the modeled shock formation farther downstream, and benchmarked GEN 1 against GEN 2 with Mach contours and thrust metrics. The simulation comparison predicted +3.3% specific impulse, +3.56% thrust, and +25% pressure-ratio recovery. These are model-to-model results, not flight-measured gains.
During the remote year, the propulsion workflow became CFD-driven and iteration-heavy. I redesigned the expanding parabolic contour (GEN 2), pushed the modeled shock formation farther downstream, and benchmarked GEN 1 against GEN 2 with Mach contours and thrust metrics. The simulation comparison predicted +3.3% specific impulse, +3.56% thrust, and +25% pressure-ratio recovery. These are model-to-model results, not flight-measured gains.
Junior Year (2021-2022): Combustion Chamber Lead
Shifted from component modeling to subsystem validation through hot-fire data.
As Combustion Chamber Lead, I integrated nozzle, liner, injector, feed instrumentation, and test operations into one propulsion subsystem. Work included oxidizer mass-flow modeling, transient thermal and structural validation, and thrust-stand data processing with calibrated load-cell pipelines. Static-fire campaigns were used to correlate simulation outputs against measured thrust behavior.
Senior Year (2022-2023): Team Lead and First 6-Inch Flight
Moved from subsystem authority to full program integration and launch execution.
As Rocket Project Lead, I directed a 50+ member team and led the structural transition from a 4.5-inch architecture to a modular 6-inch vehicle. The program integrated propulsion, structures, avionics, and recovery under flight timelines, including valve-system transition and static-fire readiness campaigns. The effort culminated in the team's first 6-inch hybrid rocket flight at Spaceport America Cup.
What the Four-Year Arc Demonstrates
The project grew from one component model into configuration control across an entire vehicle.
The most important progression was not a single performance number. It was learning to keep analysis, hardware, test evidence, team interfaces, and operational readiness tied to the same configuration. The year-by-year pages preserve that progression in more detail. Program outcomes belong to the team; modeled nozzle results, personally manufactured parts, subsystem leadership, and organization-level decisions should remain separately attributed when this work is discussed.