to build the vehicles of human exploration…
The decision to build and launch rockets as a science endeavor is easy. Building rockets is an inspiring and engaging means for students to learn Physics, Chemistry and Engineering. Through alignment of our organizational goal to push the boundaries of what we can do with students and perform authentic work at the frontiers of human achievement, we’ve made a decision – We will launch rockets!
Our Rocketry Research Program is grounded in the effort to construct the most sophisticated vehicles humans have ever conceived. Our research builds upon itself through ongoing and sequential projects as we progress towards our ultimate goal of designing, constructing, and successfully launching a rocket into Earth’s orbit. As projects complete, they serve to augment our offerings for student space and science initiatives.
We began this effort in 2014 building air rockets, a suitable access point for those with little to no experience with rocketry. Gathering basic knowledge of construction and design, this moved quickly into developing water rockets, and subsequently Estes model rockets. It was around this time that we then began creating our own scratch builds to be used with Estes motors, which turned out to be a fun and successful project.
Our latest effort was to research motor design and construction. In this project, we worked with students to prepare and characterize solid propellant fuel types, design and test motors, and gather data to analyze their performance. In the end, we created safety and procedural protocols for constructing, testing, and using our own rocket motors for future efforts.
Within this page are projects we’ve completed, ones that are currently underway, and proposed future endeavors. We are actively seeking donations to help fund this ongoing effort.
(Add balsa rocket content) – completed project
(Add motor development and testing content) – completed project
(Add small rocket content) – completed project
(Add metal rocket content – Theo’s rocket) – current project, soon to be completed
(Add next semester’s rocket project) – upcoming project
(Add JP’s rocket to space) – current project