Made by a rocket mechanic

I work on rocket engines. Not on a poster, not in a video game. On real hardware, with real tools, on real test days.

Why this exists

Spend enough time around rocket engines and you notice something. The work is loud, precise, and honestly pretty incredible. But the merch? Almost nothing out there felt like it came from people who actually turn the wrenches. It was either a logo on a plain shirt or a cartoon rocket that didn't look like anything that ever flew.

I wanted gear I'd actually wear to the shop and on the weekend. Gear that gets the engine details right, and that people in this world would recognize. Nobody was making it, so I started making it.

What a hot fire is

A hot fire is a full engine test. The engine gets bolted down to the test stand and lit at full power without going anywhere. Everything you built gets proven in a few seconds of noise and fire. That's the name, and that's the standard: bolted down, lit up.

The bear

Every design has a mechanic bear on it. He welds the F-1, wrenches on the J-2, torches the H-1 and checks the RS-25 with a flashlight. He's the crew. He's the person on the stand that nobody puts on a T-shirt, until now.

Why Canoga Park

The first designs come from engines with deep roots in Canoga Park, on the west side of the San Fernando Valley, where big liquid-fuel engines like the F-1 and the RS-25 were built. The RS-25 flew on every Space Shuttle mission and now powers SLS. Read about the engines →

That's just the start. More rocket engines and nozzles are coming.

How it's made

• Shirts and mugs are printed to order. No warehouse full of unsold stock.
• Stickers are printed in small batches and mailed in a stamped envelope.
• Orders run through our Etsy shop for now.

Hot Fire Supply Co. is an independent, fan-made brand. The designs are our own. We don't speak for, and aren't connected to, any employer, aerospace company or agency.