We built the first liquid rocket engine in UF history
“Do you want to build a rocket engine?” Those are the words that started this journey 2.5 years ago in the middle of Turlington Plaza at UF. At the time, there was no engine or test stand; they were both concept sketches, clean-sheet designs, CAD models and Excel spreadsheets. Even as freshmen, we knew the opportunity to help build a liquid rocket program from the ground up was something we could not pass up.
We came into Florida Rocket Lab (FRL) with a perspective most people share — that rocket science is reserved for a class of elite super geniuses and is inaccessible to ordinary students. But seeing other university liquid programs showed us how limitless this field is. We knew we wanted to add FRL to that list of elite collegiate programs. What convinced us to stay was how intensely driven the team was. The more we planned for the future and poured time into research and design, the more we realized these goals were actually attainable.
Building a rocket program requires a level of "extreme ownership" over a system. For some of us, that meant building a guidance, navigation and controls team, from the first line of code to a full simulation software suite. For others, it was designing, assembling and testing fluid systems, from the initial igniter verification to the full engine hotfire. Regardless of our areas of expertise, we all recognized early on that FRL was the only place we were going to get such a breadth and depth of experience.
Working on "Sparrow," a 550-pound-force-thrust bipropellant rocket engine, has been an integral part of our time at UF. At first, it was just a few hours a week. But as we rose to leadership positions, our motivation and time commitment rose exponentially. We now spend the majority of our waking hours doing work for the team. Balancing this with schoolwork is difficult; we had to sacrifice hobbies and time. However, the experience gained from designing, building and testing actual liquid rocket engines matters far more to our futures than a spotless transcript ever could.
Nothing is magic. Nothing is too complicated to figure out if you care enough to keep showing up and refuse to quit. We’ve learned that there’s nothing mysterious about rocket engines at all. They are built from parts that can’t get too hot and must be strong enough not to burst under pressure. Anyone who spends time understanding the fundamentals can and will build anything they want. As an entirely undergraduate team, we faced a steep learning curve that we overcame through sheer willpower and industry experience from internships.
After two years of dedicated design, manufacturing and testing, we successfully hotfired Sparrow at Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville. Working under the direction of Youngsup Song, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UF Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, we collaborated to create the design.
Extensive operating procedures and industry safety standards were rigorously followed, and in-house trailer fluids and custom electronics systems performed reliably across several wet dress rehearsals and seven full-duration hotfires without a single failure. With contributions from the combustion devices, fluids, testing, avionics and vehicle engineering subteams, the engine performed nominally — matching the design thrust exactly.
This milestone represents years of preparation and thousands of hours of development from a team of passionate engineers who refused to give up on an ambitious goal. Hotfiring the first liquid rocket engine in UF history has cemented our place in Gator history.
The most important thing we’ve learned is that nothing is impossible, provided you put in the time and effort. No matter how insurmountable a task seems, a hundred hours later, it often seems silly that we were once so intimidated by it. We didn’t even know how to code or what a matrix was when we got to college, and now we write software and build rockets for a living. This project has forced us to develop real leadership habits — coordinating people, keeping momentum and representing the group. It has made us more mature and professional engineers.
Our impact goes beyond technical accomplishments. This success sparked rapid growth that allowed us to increase our member count by over 150%. We’ve developed a comprehensive new-member project to instill the engineering mindset that will prepare Gators for success in all aspects of life. Our mission is to bridge the gap between the new-age space industry and student engineers, ensuring that our legacy is defined not just by what we built but by the people we empowered.
Over this next year, FRL will be building on this momentum to launch "Mirage" as part of the FAR-OUT rocketry competition in May 2026. You can support FRL directly through our donation account at MAE Liquid Propulsion - University of Florida Advancement.
Please contact ufliquidpropulsion@gmail.com so we can verify receipt of your donation or answer any additional questions about the team.
About the students:
Austin Martin is a fourth-year aerospace engineering student and president of Florida Rocket Lab, whose professional experience includes internships at SpaceX (Falcon 9 launch operations), Relativity Space (Aeon R engine propulsion test) and Impulse Space (Deneb engine propulsion test).
Andres Villate is a fifth-year aerospace engineering student and vice president of propulsion for Florida Rocket Lab. He led the design of UF’s first flight-intent liquid propulsion system, contributing to the flight Sparrow injector and Mirage vehicle fluid system, and he interned on design teams for Firefly Aerospace’s Miranda and Relativity Space’s Aeon R engines.
John Bromfield is a fourth-year aerospace engineering student and vice president of operations for Florida Rocket Lab. He has worked as a test operator for the team for two years, contributing to Sparrow V1 igniter hot fires, hydrostatic testing and injector cold flows. He also worked on engine test cells and military engine testing during two internships at GE Aerospace.
Nicholas Hirsch is a third-year aerospace engineering student with a minor in computer science. He became a member of the vehicle engineering team in 2023 before serving as the guidance, navigation and control team director. Since August 2025, he has served as vice president of flight vehicles, managing the design of FRL’s Mirage for the FAR-OUT competition.
Aidan Mason is a fourth-year business administration student and has served as the business director of FRL since October 2025. He oversees the business team, helping everyone reach their financial, marketing and professional development goals.