The Oregon State University (OSU) High Altitude Liquid Engine (HALE) rocketry team is part of OSU’s student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The team is organized and led by students from different backgrounds, including mechanical, manufacturing, computer, and electrical engineering, and advised by Dr. Kyle Niemeyer. HALE is structured into six capstone subteams: Avionics, Aero and Recovery, Fluids, Structures, Valves, and Vertical Test Stand. The propulsion subteam is run by graduate students.
HALE is participating in the Base 11 space challenge, intending to develop a liquid bipropellant-powered flight vehicle capable of surpassing the Kármán line (328,000 feet) and safely recovering. This year’s project efforts aimed to complete the design and manufacturing of the subscale flight vehicle.
All subteams worked collaboratively to integrate their completed tasks, recruiting ambitious student volunteers seeking to gain hands-on rocketry experience. The most important milestones included manufacturing the main flight valve assemblies, recovery system, vertical test stand, flight avionics, structures, and MIRA 2 engine. Additionally, HALE developed P&IDs, wrote launch procedures, ordered countless components, drafted comprehensive flight vehicle CAD, validated multiple systems, and documented all progress for future generations of the team.
Although HALE wasn’t able to launch a subscale vehicle under this term, HALE had likely its most productive year. The team grew largely in size and instilled a passion for the project in a new cohort of talented underclassmen. HALE is a collaborative, open, and project-rich environment for the fostering of strong aerospace minds at OSU.