Loxodon-1 Liquid Propulsion Team

Loxodon-1 Liquid Propulsion Team

University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez Campus

About Our Project

Loxodon-1 is the first student-led liquid propulsion team in Puerto Rico. Based at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, our mission is to design, build, and hot-fire the island’s first bi-propellant liquid rocket engine. The engine we are currently developing is a 50-lbf GOX/Jet-A heat-sink design produced entirely by undergraduate students. Puerto Rico has very few opportunities for hands-on propulsion work, so this project serves as a training ground for future aerospace engineers on the island. Our members have already gone on to work or intern at SpaceX, Firefly Aerospace, Blue Origin, NASA, Pratt & Whitney, and GE Aerospace.

What We’re Building

A key focus of our current development cycle is the fabrication of our custom three-point unlike-doublet impinging injector. This injector is responsible for atomizing and mixing gaseous oxygen and Jet-A inside the thrust chamber, producing a stable spray pattern that enables controlled and efficient combustion. The design has been sized analytically and refined through CFD, with attention placed on maintaining proper impingement angle, flow balance, and manufacturability using GOX-compatible stainless steel. Once integrated, the injector will operate at approximately 100–120 psia and interface directly with our copper heat-sink thrust chamber.

Component Testing and Validation

Before any component is cleared for integration, it undergoes a detailed verification process. The injector has been one of the most thoroughly tested parts in our system. We have performed multiple cold-flow spray tests using nitrogen and water to observe spray formation, confirm impingement accuracy, evaluate flow symmetry, and assess structural behavior under pressure. These tests have helped guide design adjustments and ensure that the final machined injector will behave predictably under full operating conditions. To demonstrate our testing process, we have included one of our injector cold-flow test videos along with photos from our test bench.

Why We Are Requesting Sponsorship

Manufacturing the final version of our injector requires precision machining, oxygen-compatible material handling, and high-accuracy tolerances to ensure safety and consistent performance. A sponsorship from PCBWay would allow us to fabricate the injector to the level of quality necessary for hot-fire testing. Receiving support in manufacturing this component would accelerate our testing timeline, allow us to shift limited student funding toward additional instrumentation and safety hardware, and directly enable Puerto Rico’s first liquid rocket engine hot-fire. This partnership would also give our students the chance to work with industry-level manufacturing quality, improving the realism and rigor of our engineering education.

Educational Impact

The development of this injector and the engine as a whole provides students with hands-on experience that is otherwise unavailable in Puerto Rico. Through design cycles, analysis, testing, and manufacturing planning, students gain skills directly applicable to propulsion engineering and advanced systems integration. This project strengthens the aerospace ecosystem on the island and helps prepare the next generation of engineers for careers in the aerospace industry.

Thank You

We appreciate PCBWay’s commitment to supporting student engineering teams around the world. Partnering with your organization would help us achieve a historic milestone for Puerto Rico and would make a meaningful difference in the educational experience of our members. Thank you for considering our project.