After months of detailed design work and component testing, we're excited to announce that the LKD-12(2C)1A-1 liquid bipropellant rocket engine has entered its integration phase. This marks a significant milestone in our journey to develop Thailand's first domestic space-capable rocket engine.

Rocket background

Component Testing Results

Over the past two months, we've successfully validated several critical components:

  • Swirl injector performance matches our computational predictions within 2% margin
  • Combustion chamber cooling channels passed pressure tests at 40 bar
  • Propellant feed system demonstrated stable flow rates at design conditions

Integration Challenges

As we move into the integration phase, we're focusing on several key challenges:

  1. Ensuring proper alignment of the injector assembly with the combustion chamber
  2. Validating all sensor connections and calibrations
  3. Finalising the test stand interface design

"The successful component testing gives us confidence in our design approach. Now we're focused on bringing everything together for our first integrated system tests."
— Head of Engineering

Next Steps

Our immediate goals for the next month include:

  • Complete sensor calibration procedures
  • Finalise assembly procedures
  • Begin cold flow testing
  • Prepare test stand instrumentation

Here's a sample code snippet showing our swirl injector design code:

async #calculate(){
        this.R_in = this.Rbar_in * this.R_n;
        this.r_in = calculate.r_in(this.R_in, this.R_n, this.n, this.A);
        this.l_in = this.lbar_in * this.r_in;
        this.l_n = this.lbar_n * this.R_n;
        this.R_s = this.R_in + this.r_in;
        this.l_s = this.lbar_s*this.R_in;
        this.Re = calculate.Re(this.m_dot, this.n, this.r_in, this.rho, this.v);
        this.lambda = 0.3164 / (this.Re**0.25);
        const A_eq = calculate.A_eq(this.R_in, this.R_n, this.n, this.r_in, this.lambda);
        const mu_eq = (await read_Fig._32(A_eq)).mu;
        this.angle_in = calculate.angle_inlets(this.R_s, this.l_in)
        const xi_in = Utilities.lerp(0.9, 0.5, 30, 90, this.angle_in);
        this.xi = calculate.xi(xi_in, this.lambda, this.l_in, this.r_in);
        this.mu_i = calculate.mu_i(mu_eq, this.xi, this.A, this.Rbar_in);
        const new_R_n = calculate.R_n(this.m_dot, this.mu_i, this.rho, this.p_drop);
        const new_A = (this.R_in * new_R_n) / (this.n * this.r_in**2);

        this.#residuals.push(Math.abs(new_R_n - this.R_n)+ Math.abs(new_A - this.A));
        this.#iterations.push((this.iterations.at(-1) ?? 0) + 1);

        this.R_n = new_R_n;
        this.A = new_A
    }

Stay tuned for more updates as we progress toward our first hot fire test scheduled for June 2025.