Four members of Texas A&M’s SRT avionics subteam — Matthew Davidson, Shaan Patel, Riley Peterson, and Tres Trevino — traveled to Abu Dhabi, UAE, and captured first place in the 2025 TII Rocket Telemetry Challenge. SRT was one of only two finalists selected from 46 international submissions ranging from university teams to aerospace companies.
The challenge tasked teams with developing a telemetry, tracking, and command system capable of maintaining a data link with a suborbital sounding rocket. The team’s original system, built for Morpheus, had been damaged in a prior launch failure, requiring a full redesign before the finals. The new architecture used a better radio modem and emphasized operational reliability.
During the finals, the team adapted to last-minute SD card and VERTEX issues and reduced transmit power to comply with UAE regulations. The telemetry system operated at 0.9 km, with analog video functioning at 1.1 km. The team’s overall design and performance secured the competition win.