As of November, 19 university teams remain in the Base 11 Space Challenge. The competition continues to heat up, with teams progressing beyond the design and prototyping stage, to building and testing their liquid propulsion engines in Phase 2 of the contest. Two teams have emerged as front runners in the race to the Karman Line, officially beginning static test fires of their liquid engines: the University of Michigan’s MASA Rockets and the University of British Columbia’s UBC Rocket.
Before static test firing their engines for the Base 11 Space Challenge, teams are required to submit their test stand designs and test fire procedures for review by the Safety Council. After iterating on their plans with input and advice from the Safety Council members, teams are given permission to begin their hot fires.
Check out these stunning videos of the work in progress!
University of Michigan’s MASA Rockets hot fire
University of British Columbia’s UBC Rocket hot fire
Follow the competition on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook with #B11SpaceChallenge, to see more teams as they begin their static test fires in the quest for the Karman Line.