We fired a model rocket engine (‘D’ sized) through the quad’s magnetohydrodynamic generator. The engine was significantly smaller than the quad. We wanted to give the unit and the data logger a shakedown under “hot” conditions. We were pretty startled by the performance. We saw twelve amps at one volt. The ceramic housing developed several cracks from the two firings we did and the cathode worked loose. It was a great first look at the unit. We’re going to rebuild the generator and do a few more of these firings. This will let us refine it a bit before the quad firing.
