Zola was a quick project with a four-person team to figure out how to go about building a liquid oxygen pump. We tested it at Race to Space 2024/25 and were able to generate a couple of bar pressure delta before the pressure boundary failed. The learnings fed into the devlopment of Meela, our subsequent, more serious, attempt.
Testing at Race to Space.Exploded view of the assembly.One-piece 316 stainless printed and finish machined shaft. This proved to be an error of judgement and informed the Meela development.With the front cap removed.The test rig I built to be able to do preliminary LIN testing (demonstrated) of the pump at university.Us presenting the hardware at the symposium in 2025.
