By BLOODHOUNDSSC

The BLOODHOUND Project is the World Land Speed Record attempt designed to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM subjects).

The Project, launched in October 2008, today announces six major milestones:

1. Education: 2,410 schools sign up to the BLOODHOUND Education programme; independent research confirms BLOODHOUND SSC is having a mini “Apollo” effect

2. Car design finalised: BLOODHOUND SSC has gone through ten design evolutions. The design is now set with the EJ200 jet engine from a Eurofighter Typhoon positioned above the prototype hybrid rocket – the largest ever designed in the UK

3. Launch of new BLOODHOUND HQ: New BLOODHOUND Headquarters and build site opens in Bristol Docklands

4. Record attempt: Runs to commence in 2011 on the Hakskeen Pan, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

5. Sponsors: Major sponsors supporting the Project include STP, Lockheed Martin and IT partner Intel

6. Supportersʼ club: raised over £137,000 in its first year

1. The BLOODHOUND Education Programme
The Project has over 2,410 primary and secondary schools, 176 further education colleges and 33 universities signed up and using the BLOODHOUND Education resources in their lessons. We have reached our target of 10% of the 25,000 schools in the England and Wales in the first year alone – the Project has even had its first nursery school join this week.

An independent study by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) concluded that the BLOODHOUND Education Programme provides a genuine ʻhookʼ to get children interested in science and engineering.

Siobain Barns from Harwood Meadows Primary School in Bolton, who uses the resources in her classroom, said: “Our pupils are blown away to be involved in such an exciting project and enthusiasm is equally high from girls as well as boys” she continued: “Theyʼre enjoying maths without realising theyʼre learning.”

Its not just at primary level that BLOODHOUND Project is having an effect. The University of the West of England and Swansea University, both Project sponsors, have seen increases in student applications for their undergraduate engineering and computing courses of 37% and 32% respectively.

2. Car design finalised and construction begins in Bristol
BLOODHOUND SSC (Super Sonic Car) has gone through ten design evolutions since work started. The original plan had been to position the small 200 kg rocket above the heavier 1,000 kg EJ200 Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine and the car was designed accordingly over the following 18 months. As the Project developed it became clear that more thrust was required to overcome the aerodynamic drag. This culminated in a hybrid rocket weighing 400 kg. The extra thrust also created a fresh challenge for the engineering team: The rocket firing would violently pitch the car nose-down, destabilising the whole vehicle.

The engineering team lead by John Piper, engineering director, began a radical re-design of the car which saw the jet engine positioned over the rocket. This re-design was made possible by IT partner Intel providing one of the largest computer clusters in the country. Designs are tested using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology developed at Swansea University. Tests that previously took one day to be run could now be completed in just a couple of hours with the increase in computing resource provided by Intel.

Images of the NEW car design are available on our FTP site, details below.

Cockpit design
The worldʼs fastest office has been designed by driver Wing Commander Andy Green, based on his experience flying fighter jets and on the cockpit of his previous World Land Speed Record car Thrust SSC. Images are available on our FTP site, details below.

Wheel design
Lockheed Martin UK has been developing the BLOODHOUND SSC wheel design to ensure they can withstand forces of 50,000 radial g at the rim and support a 6.5 tonne car travelling at 1,050 mph. Research by Lockheed Martin UK has focused on a 90 cm diameter wheel design, constructed from forged aerospace-grade aluminium.

BLOODHOUND SSC rocket test programme
BLOODHOUND SSC will feature the largest hybrid rocket ever designed in the United Kingdom. The rocket weighs in at 400 kg, it is 45 cm (18 inches) in diameter and, at 425 cm (14 feet) long, the same length as a Formula One car. The rocket is designed to produce 122 kN (27,500 lbs) of thrust. Together with BLOODHOUND SSCʼs EJ200 jet engine (90 kN/20 000 lb thrust), this will give the car a total of 212 kN (47,500 lb) of thrust – the equivalent of 135,000 HP, or the power of 180 Formula One cars.

On Saturday 17th October a team of experts, led by 25 year-old rocket engineer Daniel Jubb, successfully fired the first 45 cm (18 inch) prototype rocket in the Mojave desert, USA. This marks a major milestone in the rocket development programme, progressing from 15 cm (6 inch) rockets, which are regarded as world-class by the rocket community.

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