Adam Grendys

@njanne19 Yeah all control authority comes from one, contra-rotating propeller stack. With the gimbal we get pitch and yaw, and by individually varying propeller speeds we get roll control.

@AdamGrendys What’s the actuator stack? One gimbaled prop?

First free flight!!! This team is just incredible

And they’re already doing diverts days after the first hop

@Exquisite265 It’s not our best work… Aerial Stabilization Through Regulated Actuation

@AdamGrendys What does ASTRA stand for?

I cannot give enough credit to our GNC, Avionics, an Structures teams who’ve built and rebuilt this vehicle into something that really works

We fired a really cool rocket engine - and broke some records while we were at it. 🔥This Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine produced more than 4,000 pounds of thrust, and included a 300-second continuous burn, which is believed to have set the record for longest duration hot firing of an RDRE engine to date. Watch it fire: youtu.be/DjnC8KvakKk

Finished off with a long duration burn

@pintleinjector Yep just the cheapest automotive guy you can find, so far it hasn’t needed to be replaced

@AdamGrendys What do yall use to light the igniter? Spark plug?

The team has been testing our new IPA-GOx torch igniter and it’s beautiful

@Erdayastronaut 🥲

We're trying to compile a list of hardware / missions that retired or lost in 2025... this is where we're at... are we missing anything?! We've gotta be missing something... Starship V2 B1076 Retired B1086 Lost IM-2 Blue Ghost Retired Lunar Trailblazer Lots of Starlinks

The Astrobotic team recently completed a series of successful hot-fire tests using a flight-representative replica of Griffin-1’s full propulsion system. 🔥Throughout the test campaign, the main engines supplied by @FrontierAero fired 229 pulses. These tests validated engine performance and delivered essential data using firing profiles representative of actual flight conditions. Griffin’s propulsion system uses a hypergolic bipropellant architecture with two fuel tanks and two oxidizer tanks, all pressure-fed by three helium pressurant tanks. During key mission phases, both the main engines and the attitude control system (ACS) thrusters will fire in pulsed modes to achieve maneuvers like the powered descent to the lunar surface. These critical tests were carried out at @exquadrum's FORGE testing facility, located at Southern California Logistics Airport. Watching Griffin’s engines ignite is an exciting step forward in bringing this infrastructure-class lander online for the nation.

Always has been..

I think the trip will always be too short

@USFinalFrontier University of Washington for the SpaceVision conference, and I don’t want to leave

@AdamGrendys Looks beautiful - where is this at?

How is this even a real campus

This past Saturday our GNC testbed ASTRA performed its first roll control tests

I should post on here more often

Last semester, Active Controls successfully demonstrated a throttled engine as part of the Collegiate Propulsive Lander Challenge. We are now carrying that momentum forward as we race toward future milestones, including the upcoming build of our lander vehicle, TOAD.

FAR too many

It was quite a day for my first time at FAR