Student rocketeers at the University of Southern California have done it again.
The University of Southern California Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (USCRPL), which became the first student organization to launch a rocket into space in 2019, flew its Aftershock II vehicle 470,400 feet (89.09 miles, or 143.38 kilometers) above Earth last month. . This broke the amateur altitude record of 380,000 feet (71.97 miles, or 115.82 km) set in 2004 by a private space exploration team.
“This achievement represents several engineering firsts,” Ryan Kramer, an executive engineer at USCRPL and an undergraduate majoring in mechanical engineering, said in the paper. Friday’s statement (November 15th). “The Aftershock II is distinguished by the most powerful solid propellant motor ever fired by a student and the most powerful composite case motor ever built by an amateur.”
USCRPL’s groundbreaking April 2019 launch from Spaceport America, New Mexico, involved a rocket called Traveler IV. (Traveller is also the name of the horse ridden by the University of Southern California’s Trojan horse mascot.) The vehicle reached a maximum altitude of 339,800 feet (64.4 miles, or 103.6 km). This is higher than the 62-mile (100 km) Karman Line, which many people fly over. People consider it the boundary of space, and it has a top speed of 3,386 miles per hour (5,449 kilometers per hour).
Related: University of Southern California student rocket reaches space in record launch
Aftershock II’s groundbreaking launch took place on October 24 from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The 4 m (13 ft) tall and 330 lb (150 kg) rocket flew higher and faster than its predecessor, reaching a top speed of 3,602 mph (5,797 kph).
“These results establish Aftershock II as the fastest and best amateur rocket ever built,” the researchers said in their paper. white paper We are verifying flight data posted on Thursday (November 14th).
The student team made this leap thanks to a new avionics unit and other significant upgrades.
“To exceed the standards we set for ourselves with Traveler IV, we had to overcome many technical and operational challenges,” said Kraemer.
“Thermal protection at hypersonic speeds is a major industry challenge, but the protective coating system we developed worked perfectly and the rocket returned almost unscathed,” he added. “We also made a significant upgrade to the fins, replacing the bare carbon edge of previous versions with a titanium leading edge. The titanium not only protects against fraying, but is actually anodized to prevent high heat during flight. This really shows our extreme conditions.” The rocket survived. ”
Aftershock II also featured a custom computer system and circuit board that students designed and built from scratch, according to a Nov. 15 statement.
“This is a very ambitious project, not only for a team of students, but also for a group of non-professional rocket engineers,” USC Space Engineering Dean Dan Irwin said in a statement. “This is a testament to the excellence with which we aim to develop emerging space engineers who will fill top roles in the space industry and government positions.”
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