USC rocket propulsion laboratory breaks a student's altitude record – USC Viterbi

With additional reports from Conor Hayes.

From the sparsely populated and sun-drenched Spaceport America desert campus in New Mexico, the USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (RPL) became, a few weeks ago, the first team of undergraduate students to design, build and successfully launch a one-stage rocket beyond the Kármán line, as reported by Dennis Smalling, RPL's chief engineering student.

An undergraduate rocket lab organized by students and organized at USC, RPL was founded with the goal of launching and recovering the world's first entirely designed and designed rocket. On April 21, at 8 am, Traveler IV broke the world record altitude record for rocket-student teams. In doing so, RPL has more than doubled its previous record set by its own Fathom II in 2017, culminating in 15 years of experimental rocket and propulsion system development.

Reaching 340,000 feet (with a margin of error of +/- 16,800 feet), it seems that they could also have fulfilled their founding mission. "We can say 90% that the last passenger of RPL, the traveler IV, crossed the line Kármán, the recognized border between the atmosphere and the space of the Earth," said Neil Tewskbury, head of operations at RPL .

The fourth time is a charm

After the unsuccessful launch of Traveler III in the Black Rock desert in the fall, when the rocket was too small to be exposed, RPL members were cautiously optimistic. Against the roar of the rocket 8 inches in diameter and 13 meters high coming out of the launch tower, the spectators stifled, shrugs of breath, ordered in silence, to allow communication between the lorry. operations team, the avionics team and the rocket itself. Everyone remembered traveler III and the communication problems that erased this rocket in the Nevada desert last September.

But the fourth time was the charm.

The Traveler IV quickly accelerated to more than 17 g to reach its maximum speed of 4970 ft / s, Mach 5.1, in 11.5 seconds, then traveled the remaining 140 seconds to reach its maximum altitude of 340,000 feet, or 103.6 km. The RPL avionics system, custom designed and built by a large team of avionics engineers, recorded the flight using its on-board sensors and deployed the parachutes of the vehicle at its peak, allowing the rocket to slide safely to the Earth.

In total, the flight lasted 11 minutes triumphantly.

Smalling, a graduate of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering in May, said, "The IV Traveler has been an incredible success for USC RPL. After nearly 15 years and over a million hours of work, RPL has finally achieved its goal: to be the first group of students to launch the first rocket designed and built by students over- beyond the Kármán line. "

He added, "The ability of this team to overcome failures and constantly innovate new technologies has been a source of inspiration. I am so proud of what this laboratory has been able to accomplish so far and I am incredibly happy to see where RPL is going. "

In response to news of the successful launch of RPL in April, Yannis Yortsos, Dean of USC Viterbi, said, "We are proud of the tradition and indomitable spirit of innovation and perseverance of RPL teams over the years. . This remarkable moment demonstrates their ingenuity and dedication. Such learning experiences create a new generation of engineers who, like many of their predecessors of RPL, are ready to bring positive change to the world. "

Travel in space

As RPL visitors are well aware, the road to success is paved with many failures. The predecessors of Traveler IV, Traveler I and Traveler II, are part of the mutilated rockets suspended at the laboratory's high ceilings – the first victim of a mid-flight engine explosion, the last torn almost in half by the mid-flight. failure of its filament winding coal. fiber envelope.

These carcasses are emblems of lessons learned. That's why the more than 90 RPL students spend all hours of the day and night working on them. In a laboratory where students find the space needed to apply classroom lessons to hands-on experiences, resilience is the backbone of experimentation. In other words, at each disappointment, the members of RPL found a new motivation.

The journey to the IV traveler has represented more than a decade of technological advancements, process improvements and design changes, as well as countless hours dedicated to the construction and upgrading of high power rockets of all types. shapes and sizes. During this period, RPL, known for its ability to transform advanced designs into functional vehicles, has become a recruiting hub for commercial space companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and the startup, Relativity Space, founded by Alumnus RPL. .

The IV Traveler is the most technologically advanced vehicle that the USC rocket propulsion laboratory has ever piloted. Its record high of 340,000 feet (+/- 16,800 feet) is based on a well-documented internal analysis. At the present time, there has been no independent external evaluation of this data.

Practical experience

RPL was founded in 2004 by Ian Whittinghill, a student, to launch and retrieve the world's first student-designed, fully-flown rocket beyond the Kármán line.

"RPL and other student groups are essential to give students an understanding of how real vehicles and systems work," said Dan Erwin, professor of aerospace engineering and aerospace engineering at USC Viterbi, the group's senior advisor.

David Barnhart, professor of astronautics research at USC Viterbi and director of the Space Engineering Research Center, is currently advising the student team. "People often ask why USC encourages students to participate in the construction of amateur rockets," he said. "In addition to the incredible hands-on experience that translates classroom knowledge into a functional rocket, it's usually the first time that many people build and create something as big as a classroom." ;a team. The fact that they do it themselves and benefit from a unique introduction to astronautics gives them incredible motivation and enthusiasm that lasts throughout their career. "

For the future, the RPL team does not waste time. They have already begun designing the next mission: a liquid fuel vehicle for its own world record. In addition, they began conceptual work for increasingly ambitious projects, such as CubeSat deployment, active rocket stabilization and new solid engine designs.

All this work continues under a new paradigm for RPL members in which the sky is no longer the limit.