It has been a busy year for Brazoswood Rocket Engineering! Despite lost time due to Covid and storms, 70 students are working to complete three separate rocketry missions this year. The mission specialists have been working very hard to meet deadlines and prepare for launch day.
Students in Rockets 1 class began the school year building small rockets and learning the math and science behind rocket flight. Currently those teams are designing a rocket that will carry a one-pound payload to exactly one mile in the air. They will soon begin construction of the airframe, avionics, and recovery system. These teams, along with the Rockets 2 teams, will launch in early May at Smith Point, Texas.
Rockets 2 students started the year building a dynamic flight math model. This hand-programmed model deepens the students’ understanding of rocket flight and helps tremendously in the design of the rocket. Using CAD, 3D-printed prototyping and rocket-modeling softwares, students work to design a rocket that breaks the speed of sound. Before construction recently began the teams held design reviews where they received feedback from engineers and previous rocket students.
The Goddard mission has been busy this year designing a highly advanced high-power rocket as part of the Rocket 3 course. The team attempts to set the world-record for a high school hybrid rocket, with a goal of successfully launching their project at White Sand Missile Range during the summer. Students have spent months developing advanced flight models, building engineering calculators, testing experimental fuel, and designing the rocket’s airframe and internals. Currently, the team is acquiring materials and starting courses on machining and electronics. The “Sparrow” will clock in at about 17’ long, and weigh under 250 lbs fully loaded with fuel.
