Experimental Analysis of a Student-Built Kerosene and Liquid Oxygen Rocket Engine Test Stand

The Yellow Jacket Space Program (YJSP) is a student-led liquid rocketry team at the Georgia Institute of Technology with the aim of being the first team (of its kind) to reach the Karman Line. The Helluva Engine Test Stand (HETS) is YJSP’s mobile, pressure-fed, kerosene and liquid oxygen engine test stand, completed in February 2024. Since its construction, it has conducted 16 hot-fire tests of various engines and injectors of up to 2500lbf of thrust, totaling to over 80 seconds of fire time. The following paper presents an in-depth experimental analysis of the test stand’s performance and operation, a review of the challenges faced in its testing campaigns, and a survey of the improvements made to address them.