Timeline
The story of MPL so far, from founding to first hotfire push.
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May 2025
MPL founded
Ayan Chakraborty founds the McCallie Propulsion Lab with help from Andrew Voss, formerly of SpaceX.
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August 2025
Core team joins
Jack Sokhol, AJ Gupta, Josiah Obeng-Boampong, and Praketh Bathi come on board.
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October 28, 2025
SPARK ignition system hot-fired
First hot-fire of the ignition system for the Hyperion liquid rocket engine. SPARK V1 runs on methane and gaseous oxygen, with combustion gases reaching roughly half the temperature of the sun.
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December 19, 2025
Critical design review with Relativity Space
Engine-level CDR completed with Relativity Space, with changes planned before manufacturing. A 1:1 scale 3D print of the engine is made to check for design issues before metal printing.
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January 16, 2026
Test stand manufacturing begins
Manufacturing starts on the test stand for Hyperion, built with future engines in mind too.
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February 21, 2026
Aluminum engine arrives
The fully printed aluminum Hyperion engine arrives.
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March 14, 2026
Visit to Relativity Space at Stennis
The team tours Relativity Space at NASA's Stennis Space Center, sees multiple test stands, learns about Terran R testing, and gets feedback on the Hyperion design.
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April 10, 2026
1st place at Chattanooga Regional Science and Engineering Fair
The team wins 1st place in Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics at the 74th annual fair.
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May 5, 2026
Visit to Hermeus
The team visits Hermeus and gets operational insight and design feedback.
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May 18, 2026
Test stand mainframe completed
Welding and painting of the test stand mainframe finish. Plumbing remains.
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June 4, 2026
Team changes
Porter O'Shaughnessy, Kol Lea, and Tarek Ankar-Burdette join the team; Jack Sokhol leaves.
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June 11, 2026
Remaining engine parts and SPARK V2 arrive
The last pieces of the Hyperion engine arrive, along with SPARK V2.
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Ongoing
Hyperion hotfire push, plus new fronts
Working toward a Hyperion hotfire, hopefully around late 2026, while also moving on test stand plumbing, Helios engine design, and lander design.