Author Topic: BluShift Aerospace information (Read 17793 times)

C_B_Hubbs · « **on:** 07/20/2021 12:08 am »

There is a new launch company I have been following for several years now called "BluShift Aerospace". They are based in Brunswick, Maine, and intend to create a small spaceport in the state to launch their own orbital and suborbital rockets to space. They are developing a family of launch vehicles that will use a hybrid engine design called "Modular Adaptable Rocket Engine for Vehicle Launch" (MAREVL) that will burn a bio-derived solid fuel and liquid oxidizer as bipropellants. They plan on recovering and reusing parts of their launch vehicles. They will be operating in a similar area of the market as Rocket Lab, Astra, Relativity, Firefly, etc., with dedicated rides to space for small satellites.

They were founded in 2014, and by the end of 2020 they had completed 154+ static fires of their engines. They completed their first suborbital launch on 31 January 2021 with a rocket called "Stardust 1". They have several larger suborbital rockets in development: "Stardust 2", "Starless Rogue Beta", "Starless Rogue". They are targeting the first launch of their orbital rocket "Red Dwarf" by 2024. They will be launching from the southeastern coast of Maine on polar trajectories that avoid the east coast of the US while allowing for slightly retrograde sun-synchronous orbits. They are considering a secondary launch site at Cape Canaveral at some point in the future as well, for lower-inclination orbits.

I discovered the company around 2017 while just reading about new entries into the launching business. I first brought BluShift to the NSF community's attention in the Discord server last year, and I remember seeing Chris B and some others picking up the news articles about them and sharing on social media.

I began communicating directly with the folks at BluShift in 2020 and met some of them in person recently while I was in Maine. I plan on travelling to their facilities/launches in the future and would like to contribute information I gather about their development to NSF. They did say they are seeking exposure within the online space community at-large. I just wanted to start a thread here on the forum to build a following and discussions here at NSF, and provide updates as the company progresses.

Their website with more information is https://blushiftaerospace.com. Here is the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BluShift_Aerospace

trimeta · « **Reply #1 on:** 07/20/2021 03:06 pm »

A fairly recent company profile discussing their orbital plans: https://mainestartupsinsider.com/blushift-aerospace-crowdfunding/

Also, my notes say that the oxidizer for MAREVL is nitrous oxide. I can't find where I got that from, but the page for Stardust does specifically call out the oxidizer as a "non-cryogenic pressurized liquid," so I think that's consistent.

C_B_Hubbs · « **Reply #2 on:** 07/20/2021 05:49 pm »

Yes, I can confirm via direct source, nitrous oxide N₂O is their oxidizer. Their biofuel is proprietary and secret. They have said however that they are looking into other uses for their fuel, and they are continuing to develop other mixtures of biofuel to potentially be used on future vehicles.

They also have many videos about their plans, tests, and updates on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/bluShiftAerospace.

bluShift Aerospace · « **Reply #3 on:** 07/21/2021 02:03 pm »

Thanks C_B_Hubbs for starting this thread! Spot on all points.

Happy to answer any questions here down the road!

C_B_Hubbs · « **Reply #4 on:** 09/16/2021 11:28 pm »

BluShift has completed the first funding/investment round with over $800k raised. They are now focusing on narrowing down their coastal launch site (likely a near-coast island in Washington County) and scaling up production of their full MAREVL engine for the suborbital Starless Rogue launch vehicles.

They are also planning a full scale test firing of the MAREVL engine before the end of the year.

Wefunder investment site with updates: https://wefunder.com/blushiftaerospace/updates
Recent article from "Spectrum News": https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/news/2021/09/13/brunswick-rocket-company-scouts-new-launch-sites?cid=id-app15_m-share_s-web_cmp-app_launch_august2020_c-producer_posts_po-organic

russianhalo117 · « **Reply #5 on:** 02/27/2022 11:30 pm »

Since I can't find the other thread here is today's attempt and tomorrow's attempt 2 livestream for a new hybrid motor:
Attempt 1 abort/scrub:

Attempt 2:

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #6 on:** 03/01/2022 01:08 am »

Static fire test was expected at 02:00 UTC but the attempt was aborted.

trimeta · « **Reply #7 on:** 03/01/2022 01:49 am »

Quote from: Conexion Espacial on 03/01/2022 01:08 am

Static fire test was expected at 02:00 UTC but the attempt was aborted.

An attempt was made at around 2:45 UTC, but the igniter...didn't, so it just sprayed some nitrous oxide through the hybrid motor with no effect.

Gliderflyer · « **Reply #8 on:** 03/01/2022 02:03 am »

I asked in the livestream chat, and apparently they use an ethanol (and I assume N2O) spark torch igniter (it probably has to be a fairly large torch igniter to get the whole grain going). Somewhat unusual as most hybrids either use a pyro igniter or large amounts of TEA. Also an interesting choice of igniter fuel, there are much easier options to use rather than ethanol.

Spark torch igniters can be super reliable if you design them correctly and get them dialed in, so hopefully they can get it working for the next test.

russianhalo117 · « **Reply #9 on:** 03/01/2022 02:10 am »

Quote from: Gliderflyer on 03/01/2022 02:03 am

I asked in the livestream chat, and apparently they use an ethanol (and I assume N2O) spark torch igniter (it probably has to be a fairly large torch igniter to get the whole grain going). Somewhat unusual as most hybrids either use a pyro igniter or large amounts of TEA. Also an interesting choice of igniter fuel, there are much easier options to use rather than ethanol.

Spark torch igniters can be super reliable if you design them correctly and get them dialed in, so hopefully they can get it working for the next test.

The current setup very much looks to be just for the early motor tests.

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #10 on:** 03/02/2022 03:38 am »

BluShift Aerospace completed static fire of MAREVL 2.0 engine.

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #11 on:** 03/03/2022 07:54 pm »

Other images of the static fire.

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #12 on:** 06/10/2022 09:13 pm »

bluShift Aerospace - MAREVL 2.0 - Static Fire Test

EDIT: We do not know if the static fire test was performed, as the transmission was cut seconds before.

Quote

bluShift Aerospace test their full-scale Modular Adaptable Rocket Engine for Vehicle Launch (MAREVL 2.0), a novel hybrid rocket engine that burns non-toxic, carbon-neutral, bio-derived solid fuel.

The purpose of this test is to achieve ignition and stable flow throughout the engine, and to achieve full power for five seconds. Future tests will feature full-power, full-duration burns of approximately 90 seconds.

Following a series of these static fire tests, MAREVL 2.0 will power the Starless Rogue launch vehicle in suborbital flight in 2023.

etudiant · « **Reply #13 on:** 06/10/2022 09:46 pm »

The challenge in hybrids is to maintain the structural integrity of the solid fuel once about 80% has been consumed.
If the combustion is a little uneven, big chunks of unburned fuel can get ejected, which ruins the mass fraction of the motor.
Is there any indication that BlueShift has solved this problem?

C_B_Hubbs · « **Reply #14 on:** 06/24/2022 07:58 pm »

BluShift is preparing for a full power test of their full scale MAREVL 2.0 hybrid engine, scheduled for 13:30 ET on 29 June.
Here is the livestream link they have:

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #15 on:** 06/29/2022 06:19 pm »

Static Fire!

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #16 on:** 06/29/2022 06:26 pm »

bluShift Aerospace performed a five-second static fire of its MAREVL 2.0 engine a few moments ago, which is expected to power the Starless Rogue rocket on a suborbital flight in 2023.https://twitter.com/conexionspacial/status/1542212740990832642

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #17 on:** 07/01/2022 01:16 pm »

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #18 on:** 09/01/2022 09:39 pm »

BluShift Aerospace completed another static test firing of its MAREVL 2.0 engine.

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #19 on:** 09/03/2022 04:10 am »