Okay, so here’s how the day went trying to get the J-1 engine running. It’s always a process, never just flip a switch and go.
Preparation Phase
First thing this morning, I headed out to the test stand. Had to do the walk-around, you know? Put my eyes on the engine itself. Checked all the mounting bolts, made sure they were tight. Looked over the fuel lines, the sensor connections, everything. You look for anything obvious, leaks, damage, stuff that looks out of place. Spent a good chunk of time just doing that visual inspection.
Then, moved onto the systems check. Verified the fuel tanks had enough juice. Bled the feed lines to make sure there was no air trapped in there – that can cause real problems. Checked the pressure on the tanks. Went through the safety checklist item by item. Emergency shutoffs working? Check. Fire suppression system armed? Check. Cleared the area? Check. You gotta be methodical.
Pre-Launch Sequence
Alright, once the physical checks were done, moved over to the control room. Powered up the main console. Watched all the status lights come on. Ran the diagnostic software. It goes through all the sensors, valves, actuators, making sure they respond correctly. Everything came back green, which is always a good sign. Did a final radio check with the team members stationed at observation points. Got the thumbs up from everyone. We were ready to initiate the start sequence.
Ignition and Run
This is where your heart rate picks up a bit, doesn’t matter how many times you do it. Started the pre-ignition sequence. You hear the pumps start whining, pushing fuel through. Then, hit the main ignition command. There’s that low rumble that starts deep, then builds. You feel it more than hear it at first, that vibration through the floor. Watched the chamber pressure and temperature climb on the monitors. Everything looked stable, right where it should be.
Engine Performance Monitoring
- Kept a close eye on exhaust gas temperature.
- Monitored vibration levels constantly.
- Checked fuel flow rates against the expected burn.
- Ensured all pressures remained within normal operating parameters.
Let it run for the planned duration. We weren’t going for a full-power run today, just a steady state test. Saw a small flicker on one of the temp sensors, but it settled back down. Looked like just a bit of turbulence, nothing serious. Overall, it ran smooth as silk. The sound was steady, no weird noises.
Shutdown and Post-Test
After the planned run time was up, initiated the shutdown sequence. You basically reverse the process. Cut the fuel flow, let the engine spool down. Watched the temperatures and pressures decrease steadily. Waited until all rotation stopped and everything went quiet again. Felt good.
Once it was confirmed safe, did another quick walk-around outside. Looked for any drips, any discoloration from heat, anything unusual. Everything looked clean. Pulled the data logs from the control system. Got a lot of numbers to crunch later, see how it really performed against the models. But yeah, felt like a successful test run today. The J-1 did its job.
