Ryan Pettigrew
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About Me
I like building propulsion & control systems
Education
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo - B.S. Aerospace Engineering | June 2025
Recent Projects
Projects
Hopper Vehicle
Currently​:
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Conducting final static hot-fire testing campaign before flight tests
Previously:
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Designed & manufactured the vehicle
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Developed GSE, electronics, and controls
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Hot-fire tested within 4 months
Vehicle Specs:​
Dry Mass: 300 lbs​
Max Thrust: 500 lbf
Throttle Range: 30-100%
Propellant: Nitrous Oxide / IPA
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Hopper
My Hardware
Regen nozzle and chamber
TVC
Injector + Ignitor
Injector face
Hot-fire Testing Campaigns
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Over the course of a year, myself and a few other students designed, built, and tested ablative engines​​
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Two main testing campaigns totaling 40+ tests
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Demonstrated throttling capabilities with ball valves
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Thrust ranged from 300 - 900 lbf
Throttle Testing Campaign
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Test Stand
One of many
Surface-to-Air Missile Simulation
Current Version:
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6-DOF missile interceptor simulation done in MATLAB/Simulink
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The target randomly generates a maneuver every 5 seconds perpendicular to the velocity vector
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The guidance system uses a estimator and propagation algorithm to determine the future state of the target and finds the acceleration command that minimizes the miss distance
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Future Upgrades:
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Improve seeker model with gyro
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Add additional sources of noise
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Visualization
High-level Simulink Block Diagram
Target and Missile Flight Path
Miss distance over time
Aeroshell​
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Manufactured carbon fiber aeroshell for long-range electric car
Wet layup
Pre-preg cure
Door Hinge Assembly
The Inverted Pendulum
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Modeled & simulated an inverted pendulum
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Tested control schemes with physical hardware
The wheel is driven by motor which stabilizes the pendulum arm