NI to Support Texas Rocket Engineering Laboratory (TREL) in their Development of a Space-Capable Rocket
NI (NASDAQ: NATI) has announced its support for the Texas Rocket Engineering Lab (TREL) at the University of Texas at Austin, which aims to launch a powerful 28-foot liquid bipropellant rocket named Halcyon by the end of 2021. NI will provide over $150,000 worth of data-acquisition equipment to aid TREL's testing efforts in preparation for an ambitious space mission, including a hotfire test yielding over 2,500 pounds of thrust. TREL's participation in the Base11 Space Challenge offers a chance to win a $1 million grand prize for a successful launch.
- NI is providing over $150,000 in testing equipment to support TREL's rocket project.
- The Halcyon rocket aims to break the collegiate altitude record and compete for a $1 million prize.
- Successful testing could enhance NI's reputation in educational and aerospace sectors.
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NI (NASDAQ: NATI) today announced its support of the Texas Rocket Engineering Lab (TREL) at the University of Texas at Austin. TREL, an interdisciplinary research lab that prepares students for a new era of human spaceflight through hands-on projects in rocketry and aerospace, is on a mission to launch a 28-foot-liquid bipropellant rocket into space by the end of 2021. Supported by NI’s testing hardware, simulation systems and guidance rooted in bold, ambitious engineering, TREL is preparing to launch the most powerful collegiate rocket ever built.
Named Halcyon, TREL’s rocket has been entered into the Base11 Space Challenge — an international competition that tasks student-led teams to design, build and launch a liquid-propelled, single-stage rocket to an altitude of 100 kilometers, the official boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. A successful mission would place Halcyon 30 times farther than the previous collegiate altitude record for a liquid bipropellant rocket and win the TREL team a
As Halcyon’s launch date approaches, the TREL team is shifting its focus from component design and manufacturing to system integration and testing. To support TREL’s testing efforts, NI will provide over
“We are incredibly proud to support TREL and their endeavors,” noted Nick Butler, chief marketing lead for the Aerospace, Defense, and Government Business Unit at NI. “These students and researchers epitomize what it means to Engineer Ambitiously, and their applications represent a great example of the ongoing convergence of design, test and integration where digital technologies are used to accelerate productivity, innovation and discovery.”
TREL’s upcoming hotfire test, the first in a series of tests enabled by NI, is a full-scale burn of the TXE-1 engine that will generate over 2,500 pounds of thrust. This test will collect crucial rocket engine metrics like thrust, efficiency and temperature that will be used to optimize the lighter TXE-2 “Havoc” Engine, which will launch Halcyon into space later this year.
Another vital milestone for the lab is the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test, a virtual re-creation and simulation of the entire rocket in flight and a step towards the digital transformation of design and test. NI has created a custom testing rack that will create digital twins of each rocket component, which can be integrated together to create a full-scale simulation of Halcyon in flight.
With NI’s support, the TREL team will push the boundaries of collegiate rocketry and accelerate their own personal development.
“Working with NI to test Halcyon has been a privilege. The experience is invaluable, as this level of dynamic testing is generally outside the scope of university classwork but ubiquitous in industry. With our new ability to test Halcyon in a wide range of mission scenarios, come launch day, we’ll be prepared for anything,” said Stefan deBruyn, senior avionics software engineer for TREL.
NI’s work with TREL is representative of its passion to develop the next wave of testing equipment and testing engineers. NI is supporting innovation at education institutions across the country through skills development training, makerspaces and engineering projects.
About TREL
The Texas Rocket Engineering Lab (TREL) is an interdisciplinary research lab dedicated to fostering the next generation of aerospace pioneers in preparation for a new era of human space exploration. By providing hands on experience in rocket engineering, project management and business operations, TREL is training a new set of innovators to overcome the multifaceted problems of the future.
About NI
At NI, we bring together the people, ideas and technology so forward thinkers and creative problem solvers can take on humanity’s biggest challenges. From data and automation to research and validation, we provide the tailored, software-connected systems engineers and enterprises need to Engineer Ambitiously™ every day.
National Instruments, NI, ni.com and Engineer Ambitiously are trademarks of National Instruments Corporation. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
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