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In a few months, we’re going to light BPM-17—a 1.7-tonne test engine deliberately designed to be as simple as possible. No complex cooling systems. No throat. No soul-crushing engineering. Just a pipe, built for one reason: to answer a single critical question.
Does our test stand actually measure what we think it measures?
The Tape Measure Without Lines
We built a complex measurement system. Years of work. But we don’t know if it works. We have a tape measure, but there are no lines on it.
That’s the problem BPM-17 solves.
Before we light Spica—our actual rocket engine with complex injectors, cooling channels, and 90-second burn profiles—we need to understand our own test stand. We need to know: How quickly do the valves respond? How accurate are our sensors? What does the thermal profile actually look like under load? Can we predict engine behavior within acceptable margins?
This isn’t glamorous work. It’s not the explosion everyone wants to see. It’s 95% spreadsheets, 5% fire. But it’s the foundation everything else rests on.
A Lesson from 2014
Heat 2X taught us what happens when you don’t understand your own test stand. A cooling jacket failure. Expensive and painful.
After that, when Nexø came along, we did this right. Test the measurement system first. Prove it works. Then test the engine. It worked.
Now we’re repeating what we learned.
Why This Matters
BPM-17 is a test of our test stand. Engineers spending years on something that will never fly, never reach space, and never make headlines. The opposite of the Instagram moment.
But it’s essential.
When we light BPM-17 this autumn, we’re not testing an engine for flight. We’re validating our measurement system. We’re confirming that when we light BPM-25, the data we get is real. We need to know what’s actually happening inside that engine—not guesses, not estimates. Real numbers.
What Comes Next
Test stand test this autumn. Then we test the engine. Then—if the data is good, if we understand what we’re seeing—Spica lifts off.
Slow. Boring. The opposite of hype. This is how you actually build something that works.
Join Us
We’re 60+ volunteers with zero corporate budget. We’re crowdfunded by people who believe in this mission. We’re doing this the right way, which means doing it slowly.
If you want to be part of this—if you want to support the foundation there’s a place for you.
Engines lift the rocket. The capsule carries the dream.
