Protolaunch

Thanks to everyone that attended the Race 2 Space workshop last week! We had over 120 students from 18 universities in Sheffield for a day of networking, top tips and lessons learnt. The buzz and feeling of positivity and collaboration was great, very proud of what this initiative has become. Big thanks to Airborne Engineering Ltd, Protolaunch, Ian Johnston, Paul Carter, Charles Simpson and Elliott Doyle for their expert presentations. Thanks to our sponsors for this year UK Space Agency, Frazer-Nash Consultancy, Aconity3D GmbH, Lockheed Martin, SoftInWay Inc., LEAP 71 Thanks to Project Sunride, Henry Saunders and Joe L. for helping to organise the event and all the students that presented Dominic Callister Fintan Cluskey. Thanks to all of the students who came including Project Sunride, LURA - Leeds University Rocketry Association, UCL Rocket, HyPower Bristol, Imperial College London Rocketry, Imperial College Space Society, Southampton University Liquid Rocket Engine Team (SULRE), Warwick Horizon, ManSEDS (Manchester Students for the Exploration and Development of Space), CranSEDS, Durham University Spaceflight, Kingston University Rocket Engineering (KURE), Sheffield Hallam University, Swansea University, University of Aberdeen, Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd, University of the West of England. Looking forward to the hot fires in the Summer! The University of Sheffield School of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering, University of Sheffield

Protolaunch Propulsion Test Engineer Noah Buttrey visited The University of Sheffield this week to share some top tips with 150+ students from across the country who will be taking part in the Race2Space Competition. Student teams are working throughout the year to build rocket engines that will be hot fired in July with the test teams at Protolaunch, Airborne Engineering Ltd and Falcon Project at Westcott Space Cluster. Good luck to all the teams!

Protolaunch CEO Matt Escott had the opportunity to present some of the capabilities of the Protolaunch Propulsion Test Facility at the Cryogenic Hydrogen Fuel Systems Showcase hosted by the Aerospace Technology Institute. This was a great opportunity to see how some of the lessons the Space sector has learned around cryogenics could be applied to the emerging hydrogen aviation market which will play a pivotal role in the route to net zero. Protolaunch has a range of hydrogen test capabilities available in the UK. Please get in touch if you have a project that could benefit from these facilities.

The team at Protolaunch is saddened to hear the news out of Reaction Engines this week. For those impacted, Protolaunch is currently seeking two engineers to work out of our Westcott Space Cluster facility as part of ongoing and upcoming #propulsion testing activities. We are particularly seeking engineers with hands-on experience #testing space hardware and with a strong background in DfM and #CAD. Please reach out to careers@protolaunch.co.uk.

🚀 Exciting Opportunity for Space Innovators worth £25k! 🚀 Looking to accelerate your space-related projects? Through the Westcott Launchpad Programme, you can access Protolaunch's cutting-edge testing facilities – for FREE! 💡 Grants of up to £25,000 are available to help your business grow with strategic advice, support and testing to help commercialise space products and services. This is a great opportunity to work with some of the amazing companies based at the Westcott Space Cluster. 👉 Apply Now and and come and test with us: https://lnkd.in/eUk_HJvX #SpaceInnovation #Spacestartups #Propulsion #WestcottLaunchpad #BusinessGrowth #SpaceTech

Awesome things happen when passion meets expertise, and our team is proof of that. Everyone at Protolaunch brings something unique to the table. It's been an incredibly busy summer with our E-Site test facility at full capacity. A successful hot-fire test campaign of our latest FOx-1 hardware while at the same time supporting 8 different University teams as a test site for the national student Race 2 Space competition. A huge thank you to this amazing team—your dedication and talent make everything we achieve possible. 

What a day. Can't really put into words how great of a feeling testing our rocket engine was, 15 year old me would have never believed it! A little bit of stress having to remachine a part hours before test, but there's nothing better than last minute 🤣 Huge thanks to Alistair John for organising Race 2 Space and thanks to our mentor Jack Tufft. Mega job from Protolaunch for the test facility, really down to earth & accommodating people - Peter Kirman, Elias Aoubala, Jack Coghen-Brewster & Matt Escott. Huge effort by the entire team throughout the year, relieving seeing it all culminate in a few seconds - Muhammad Sergio Saifullah, Patryk Chłopek, Max Dennis, Movin Jayasinha & Jason Lam It's been good fun doing the mechanical design & manufacturing of the system, learn't so much and can't wait to see what crazy project we do next year. Thanks to our sponsor Code A Weld and of course a huge mention to the technicians and staff at University of Nottingham for making it all possible, really saved the day in the days leading up to test. Roll on MACH24 to launch our rocket! #Race2Space

Blast from the past at Protolaunch 🚀✨ These pictures were recently shared with us showing our E-Site Test Facility in Westcott Venture Park in active use in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Built sometime after 1956, E Site was originally designed to test the Bristol Siddeley Stentor engine that powered the Blue Steel stand-off missile for the UK's V bomber force. Later in its life, E Site was used to test a fully retractable rocket-assisted take-off pack for the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer S.Mk.50 strike aircraft. We've certainly made a lot of upgrades since the 1950s, but the entire team at Protolaunch can feel the 60+ years of history when we come in to the office every day. We consider E-Site our superpower as it lets us rapidly design, test and iterate our FOx in-space propulsion systems all under one roof. Here’s to forging the future while honoring the past! 🛠️🚀 #StandingOnTheShouldersOfGiants

We're gearing up for an amazing two weeks of hot fire testing with students at our Westcott test facility. Credit to Alistair John of The University of Sheffield for his sheer determination in making this event happen!

🚀 Stay Frosty with Protolaunch! ❄️⚡ Curious about the future of propulsion? Check out this footage of recent cryogenic propellant testing at our cutting-edge test facility in the Westcott Space Cluster. 🌫️🚀 Last week's hugely exciting launch of SpaceX's Starship demonstrated the significance of cryogenic propellants in the emerging in-space economy. Protolaunch is proud to be one of the few UK sites capable of testing with these cryogenic liquids. We'll soon be sharing more news on our recent project with the European Space Agency - ESA that has involved testing with some of these cryogenic liquids over the last few months. Whether we're working with propellants stored as cryogenic liquids or pioneering methods to create them from water, our in-house test facility is our superpower when it comes to iterating fast and effectively. 🌍🔬 #Cryogenics #Propulsion