Thrust Structure Assembly

The thrust structure was manufactured, assembled, and tested through 2 long-duration hot fires. Icarus successfully launched in Spring 2025 at the Mojave Desert, reaching 12,900 ft.

• Starting with first principles, the thrust structure employed a clevis and pin design.

• The team mapped each load case: tensile load from the parachute, beam buckling from thrust compression, fin can torsion, shearing, and lug. 

• We identified failure conditions and calculated the maximum load with a factor of safety to assess design viability. Preliminary FEA was performed to verify.

• The transition stage was designed to increase the rocket diameter from 8'' to 9.25''. It was needed to minimize the ox and fuel line's exposure to air and create space for fluid components. 

• The transition stage was connected to the fuel dome and fin can for integration and distribution of torsion. It also contained clevis and fin can mount holes.

• One of the major challenges faced during thrust structure design was fluid routing. On the ox side, there was a raceway that extended from outside into the system. On the fuel side, the lines needed to route outward to reach the injector inlets. In addition, there were space considerations for the purge lines and pilot lines. 

• Several routing configurations were considered. The team settled on a design that minimized the fuel line space to fit the purge lines, check valves, and QDs.