STERN gets fired

A team of engineers from Bristol University has conducted the first firing of the Static Test Expansion/Deflection Rocket Nozzle or STERN.

Rocket engines equipped with these devices should benefit from increased performance in atmospheric flight, as the nozzle compensates for the effect of changing ambient pressure, maximising thrust. This leads to an increase in payload delivered into orbit.

The first firing of the STERN rocket motor was conducted at 04:45 on Wednesday March 19 and was followed by a second firing an hour and half later. These are the first hot firings of rocket motors fitted with an Expansion Deflection (ED) nozzle in the UK and the first to use hydrogen and air as propellants.

First analysis of the test results suggests that the motor performed as expected. More tests are planned over the next month to understand more fully the complex exhaust flow in this novel type of rocket.