After a very successful PDR in November, the team began making several design changes in order to make our test stand and engine safer and more efficient. In January, the team got a sponsorship with Blue Origin, which allowed us to being ordering parts for our cold flow injector testing in the spring. We were also able to begin fabrication of the test stand and injector plate for cold flow in February, which was useful hands-on experience and knowledge for some of the new members that joined at the start of the new year. Also in February was E-Week, in which several of our team members made and presented posters to industry professionals on what we were working on within the project.
Spring was a very busy time of year for the team. Most of March was dedicated to our cold flow test, where we ran high pressure water through our injector in order to verify the design and gather much needed data. This test was a huge success for the team and one of many big steps towards our engine hot fire. Very soon after our cold flow test was the AIAA Region II Student Conference, in which the team had the opportunity to write and present papers on their parts of the project. Our chief engineer, Michael, placed second in the open topic category with his presentation on managing safety hazards within Tartarus.