Eagle Aerospace: Solid Propellant Driven Competition Rocket

The use of solid propellant motors has been around since the early days of rocketry, with applications in both aeronautics and astronautics. One outstanding example is the twin boosters used on the space shuttle flights, which would help boost the shuttle to a certain altitude before separating. What we strive to do as a team is create a student developed and manufactured rocket based on principles derived from high powered model rocketry. Our final rocket is expected to carry an 8.8-pound scientific payload as close to 10,000 feet as possible in order to meet the requirements stated in the Intercollegiate Rocketry Engineering Competition guidelines. This competition occurs annually with collegiate rocketry teams traveling from not only within the United States of America, but various nations around the world. This year’s competition is located at Spaceport America in Las Cruces, New Mexico, the site of testing for aerospace companies such as Virgin Galactic. Our competition rocket will be comprised of a hand-made fiberglass airframe crafted by our team members, and a commercial off-the-shelf solid propellant rocket motor expected to output an average thrust of 1,148 newtons. Our payload section will consist of a 3D-printed housing which will carry vibration sensors, an accelerometer, a camera, and samples of various composites. Eagle Prize Awar