FLORHAM PARK, NJ—Emerson is donating regulators to students in the Texas Rocket Engineering Laboratory (TREL) at The University of Texas for use in its Halycon bipropellant liquid propulsion rocket, hoping to set a new height record. The students have a launch goal that’s 338,000 feet higher than the current record for this type of rocket.

More than 300 TREL engineers and aerospace pioneers have worked on the project since rough sketches began two years ago. The Halcyon rocket is scheduled to launch in 2022.

The onboard regulators are critical for the rocket’s fluid systems. Some will maintain pressure levels within the fuel and oxidizer tanks during engine ignition. Others will manage the pressure of the reaction control system and the purge system that will shut down the engine post-burn, an action that is critical to the success of the mission.

The TESCOM products TREL has chosen include the 26-2000 Series air actuated regulator, which will be piloted by the ER5000 Series electropneumatic PID controller, for automated, precision control of the fuel tank pressures. TREL also chose the 44-1500 Series pressure regulator, which will sit at the top of the rocket, to control pressure to the Reaction Control Stabilization system; the 44-1300 Series pressure regulator to control the Main Engine Cut Off; and the BB-1 Series miniature pressure regulator to maintain the pneumatic supply to a number of components, including the ER5000 PID controllers.

TREL members use three separate state-of-the-art spaces to complete work on Halcyon. The TREL Design Space is used to develop component schematics, system requirements and proprietary software programs, while the Fabrication and Assembly Facility is equipped with the tools, equipment and test stands needed to assemble the rocket, as well as a full clean room to ensure safe and effective construction. Finally, the team works closely with Firefly Aerospace to conduct high energy tests like engine hot fire in Briggs, TX.

“Getting to partner directly with and be supported by Emerson in our mission to launch Halcyon is incredibly exciting for our (fluid systems) team at the Texas Rocket Engineering Lab,” says Roman Stromeyer, a UT Austin aerospace engineering master’s degree student and member of the
Halcyon team. “These pressure regulators will control all the critical functions of our vehicle and enable us to successfully carry out our suborbital flight to space—an absolutely groundbreaking accomplishment for collegiate rocketry.”