Research

Nakuja project is working on research and development to achieve the goal of the project.

All the works were supported by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya Space Agency (KSA), and the AFRICA-ai-JAPAN Project (JICA).

We also seek postgraduate students who are interested in conducting the research under the Nakuja project.

Liquid propellant rocket engine

Keywords: rocket propulsion, injector, ignitor, nozzle


The Nakuja Project initiated research and development of the liquid rocket engine in 2022, aiming to develop an engine capable of generating 2kN thrust at 2MPa chamber pressure. The project successfully designed and constructed the engine and test stand, and the successive teams worked on developing a feed system. The engine made of Aluminum 6061 uses regenerative cooling with ethanol and a pintle injector. The test stand, made of steel, can handle up to 3,500N of thrust. The piping system includes solenoid, manual, pressure regulating valves, and check valves for both the central propellant systems. The ignition system uses butane and oxygen. Using an ESP32 microcontroller, a control board manages six solenoid valves, one needle valve, three pressure sensors, and a flow sensor. The board operates on 12V with a regulated 5V supply for the ESP32. MOSFETs control the solenoid valves with LED indicators for valve status. The user interface for the remote valve control uses two ESP32s communicating via ESP-NOW protocol, with a communication range of 110 meters. The UI is built using Python, Flask, and JavaScript, allowing monitoring and controlling the rocket engine system.

Solid rocket motor

Keywords: static test, solid propellant

Aerostructure

Keywords: CFD, FEM, composite material

Avionics and recovery

Keywords: Telemetry, GPS, IMU, Parachute, Kalman filter

Flight control

Keywords: Active fin control, guidance

List of publications

  1. N. Musliah, F. Kioko, S. Aoki, E. Murimi, "Development of an Active Fin Control System for a Model Rocket", in Proceedings of the Sustainable Research and Innovation Conference, 2023.
  2. A. Kariithi, L. Mwadime, P. Muiruri, S. Aoki, J. Ngoret, "Design and Computational Analysis of Nakuja N3 Rocket Model", in Proceedings of the Sustainable Research and Innovation Conference, 2023.
  3. L. Mwadime, A. Kariithi, P. Muiruiri, S. Aoki, J. Ngoret, "Design Analysis and Simulation of Nakuja N3 Launch Rail", in Proceedings of the Sustainable Research and Innovation Conference, 2023.
  4. J. Wangai, R. Maina, S. Aoki, "Design and analysis of wraparound microstrip patch array antenna for rocket telemetry", in Proceedings of the Sustainable Research and Innovation Conference, 2023.
  5. P. Munyao, P. Muiruri, S. Aoki, "Utilizing Moving Average for Apogee Detection in Unfiltered Data: An Analysis", in Proceedings of the Sustainable Research and Innovation Conference, 2023.
  6. W. Kigani, F. Gateru, M. Gichia, V. Nyerere, J. Mboya, B. Owiti, S. Aoki, “Development of a Solid Propellant Motor for High-Powered Model Rockets,”, in Proceedings of the Sustainable Research and Innovation Conference, 2022, pp. 77–86.
  7. M. Ngethe, Y. Kiplimo, S. Aoki, “Implementation of Message Queuing Telemetry Transport Protocol in Model Rocket,” in Proceedings of the Sustainable Research and Innovation Conference, 2022, pp. 29–32.
  8. F. W. Gateru, S. K. Oina, J. Mboya, I. Kibandi, B. Owiti, and S. Aoki, “Development of Solid Propellant Motor for Low Altitude Model Rockets,” in Proceedings of the Sustainable Research and Innovation Conference, 2021, pp. 61–68.
  9. M. G. Kimani, D. R. Osodo, and S. Aoki, “Detection of Apogee with Kalman Filter for Flight Computer of Model Rockets,” in Proceedings of the Sustainable Research and Innovation Conference, 2021, pp. 57–60.