The Yellow Jacket Space Program (YJSP) got one step closer to realizing its ultimate mission last month, when its seven-student Propulsion Team hosted two successful static hot-fire tests of its YJ-1S engine at a privately owned test site in Douglas County.

A registered student organization, the YJSP 's ultimate goal is to design and launch a suborbital rocket past the Karman line (100 kilometers) -  a feat that will allow students and other researchers in Atlanta to test new technology and perform experiments in space.

The hot-fire tests on November 21 and November 24 were the first-ever firings of a student-developed liquid rocket engine, said AE doctoral student Johnie Sublett, YJSP's president. The tests allowed the team to assess the engine’s thrust, chamber pressure, and overall performance on the ground and gather the necessary data needed to develop a version for flight. The testing also exposed YJSP members to a massive design and hands-on skill building experience -  two things that are rare outside the commercial spaceflight industry.

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