Lotus Dev 1
BURPG’s first liquid bi-propellant engine developed, Lotus Dev 1 marked a shift in the direction that BURPG would approach its space shot.
LD1
Following the success of the hybrid engines developed by BURPG, the group decided to shift gears towards developing the technologies seen in industry. Not only did this mean that the group would move away from hybrid engines, but it also meant that its space shot vehicles would now fly on a fully liquid platform.
The design features a copper chamber and injector with an aluminum jacket and saddle. LD1 produced valuable data for the Lotus liquid engine development program, and has paved the way for Lotus Dev 2 and a Starscraper sub-orbital space flight.
Starscraper’s liquid variant was to be fitted with two Lotus Dev 1 engines, until being replaced by its successor, Lotus Dev 2.
Engine Overview
Regenerative Cooling
Lotus Dev 1 was the team's first foray into the challenging regenerative cooling method. The design, knowledge, and test data proved valuable not only in the performance of LD1 but also in the development of the cooling system in Lotus Dev 2 and future flight optimized engines.
Copper Injector
Lotus Dev 1 features the team's first triplet impinging injector that aided in the development of Iron Lotus and Lotus Dev 2's injector plate. The injector, machined out of copper, allows for very good mixing and atomization of propellants in the combustion chamber--attributing to the high combustion efficiencies achieved by the Lotus engines.
Facts & Figures:
| 1,500 lbf | 227 sec |
|---|---|
| Lotus Dev 1 was designed to fly with 1,500 lbf of thrust. | The measured specific impulse of LD1 from test data |
| IPA & N2O | 40 sec |
| LD1 features high performance storable propellants | The total burn time of LD1 in its Starscraper configuration |
Help us make history
