We Are Bluebird
We are a team of high school students aiming to be the first high school team to design, build, and fly a self-developed liquid-fueled rocket to space.
With the successful hotfire of Cardinal, Bluebird became one of the only high school organizations in the world capable of developing a bipropellant engine.
With the successful hotfire of Cardinal, Bluebird became one of the only high school organizations in the world capable of developing a bipropellant engine.
Cardinal Static Fire
Bluebird Completes First Static Fire of Cardinal 1 On January 17, 2026, Bluebird Aerospace completed our first, record-breaking hotfire with the Cardinal 1 engine at the Friends of Amateur Rocketry (FAR)...
Read More →
Our Work
Our first engine, Cardinal, is a self-developed bipropellant liquid rocket engine, which delivered 3.34 kN ASL in our most recent static fire. This makes it the most powerful rocket engine fired by a high school team in the US. It runs on liquid nitrous oxide and ethanol. Future plans aim to test this engine at 30 bar Pc, delivering up to 7.5 kN ASL.
Design Thrust: 3 kN (685 lbf)
Achieved Thrust: 3.34 ± 0.4 kN (751 lbf)
Target Thrust: 7.5 kN (1685 lbf)
Achieved Chamber Pressure: 16 bar (232 psi)
Target Chamber Pressure: 30 bar (435 psi)
Target Burn Time: 2.6 seconds
Cooling: Heatsink [3] w/ CHAMBERSAFE ablator [2]
Specific Impulse: 148 sec. ASL
Fuel: 95% v/v Ethanol
Oxidizer: Nitrous Oxide
Igniters: Redundant C6 Estes motors [4]
Injector: Scrintle or pintle [1]
Our Progress
Join the Mission
Contact Us
Â
We hope that you are excited about Bluebird!
Interested in sponsoring, supporting, collaborating, or meeting with us? Please contact us.
Let's dream, fly, and inspire!
Thank you to everyone who has helped make Bluebird possible!
