About us

Our team is selectively formed every year with one goal in mind - design, analyze, test, and build a rocket that competes at the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), hosted by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA). We divide our workload over eight sub-teams in order to fully manage the responsibilities of assembling a rocket. Although funded in part by the university, we require assistance from other sponsors in order to create the parts required for our rockets. Unlike most rocketry teams, we craft everything down to the outer shell of the rocket from our very own design labs at Texas A&M University. Our members are dedicated, and each student is expected to spend roughly 20 hours per week on activities related to the organization.

Sub-teams

The Sounding Rocketry Team emphasizes both student leadership and self-instruction in each of its eight student-led subdivisions: Avionics, Business, Dynamics, Propulsion, Structures, Ground Support Engineering, and Recovery. The sub-teams are designed such that each student has a vital role in the overall success of the project. Each student is in control of and responsible for the design and construction of a sustainable rocket.
Picture

​Avionics 
  • The Avionics sub-team consists of a manager and 8-9 general members who develop and maintain the rocket’s data, power, control, and communication systems through hardware and software design.
  • This sub-team is responsible for producing the vehicle’s control system, data collection and telemetry modules, power system, live video feed, and payload.
  • This sub-team’s work requires some electronics knowledge and programming experience (C/C++, Python, MATLAB). PCB design skills are highly valuable. Basic 3D modeling (SolidWorks) is not required but highly encouraged.
  • ​Avionics members will gain experience designing hardware and software, thinking from a systems-level perspective, and communicating with other sub-teams to understand how their work affects the overall project.
Picture

​Business
  • The Business sub-team consists of a manager and 5-7 general members, who will be tasked with securing the financial future of the team, keeping a detailed accounting record, and marketing the achievements, goals, and ideas to individuals inside and outside of the organization.
  • This team is responsible for communication with sponsors, donors, faculty, and team moral and benefits. The business sub-team will also be responsible for funding and resource procurement, meaning daily responsibilities of maintaining a budget and allowing acquisition of parts and funds for the team.
  • Members will follow other sub-teams closely, documenting their technical work and relaying it to the public. Skills in photography, graphic design, accounting, and marketing are desired for this team. This sub-team performs critical operations that help fund and promote the Sounding Rocketry Team. Selected members must demonstrate a strong entrepreneurial mindset and personal drive.
Picture

​Dynamics
  • The Dynamics sub-team consists of a manager and 4-5 general members who will be tasked with modeling the trajectory, aerodynamics properties, and stability characteristics of the rocket. Which includes nosecone and fin design and fabrication.
  • This team uses aerodynamic literature, wind tunnel testing, and analysis tools such as MATLAB, RASAero, and STAR-CCM+. The culmination of this process will be a stable and aerodynamically sound rocket, a product of educated design choices.
  • Members will be expected to consider all factors of a design problem, thoroughly document their work, and be detail-orientated while maintaining a high-level systems engineering mindset. Members are expected to have an understanding of aerodynamic concepts and a strong work ethic.
Picture

​Ground Support Engineering
  • The Ground Support Engineering (GSE) sub-team consists of a manager and 6-8 members whose role is to design control systems, data acquisition systems, and ground support software to support testing and operation of rocket systems. This includes data acquisition and controls for pad fluid systems, rocket engines during testing, and anything in between.
  • The design of ground support software that facilitates real time data acquisition, telemetry, and controls, is an integral part of GSE. Without ground software, visualization of data from DAQ systems, and communication to control systems cannot be operated in real time, in the hands of a test operator.
  • This sub-team will also have the responsibility of maintaining and improving testing infrastructure such as the static test cell and the vertical launch tower. This sub-team will also create and update test scripts and operations.
  • ​Sub-team members will be expected to become proficient in data acquisition, signal processing, electronics (PCB design), microcontrollers (Arduino), networking communication (Ethernet TCP, UDP, MODBUS), and programming (C++, Python). A respect for procedural testing, working with both mechanical and electrical systems, and a large time commitment will be expected from all sub-team members.
Picture

​Propulsion
  • The Propulsion sub-team consists of a manager and 8-10 members who are tasked with developing, manufacturing, and characterizing robust and efficient hybrid propulsion systems. Emphasis will be placed on research into the mechanics of a hybrid engine and its sub-systems in order to optimize engine characteristics (thrust, burn time, mass flow rates, regression, etc.) and accurately predict performance through computational models.
  • Members must be familiar with all components of a hybrid propulsion system (oxidizer tank, plumbing assembly, throttling system, injector plate, combustion chamber, nozzle) and understand how these parts interact with one another. A background in chemistry, thermodynamics, and high speed aerodynamics is necessary, and experience with MATLAB, SolidWorks, and CFD is preferred. Additionally, prior machining experience is beneficial.
  • Propulsion sub-team members will be expected to contribute a significant amount of time to research, fabrication, and testing while learning new concepts and skills quickly regardless of prior exposure.
Picture

​Structures
  • The Structures sub-team consists of a manager and 6-8 members whose role is to design, analyze, fabricate, and test all structural components of the team’s sounding rocket and launch infrastructure. This includes: fabrication of the rockets components (body tubes, nose cone, fins and bulkheads), materials testing/analysis, and design of major improvements to the launch trailer and launch tower.
  • Members will be responsible for making and updating relevant 3D CAD/SolidWorks models. Members will work with a variety of materials such as: composites, metals, and plastics to manufacture rocket components and launch equipment. Members will also perform experimental materials testing to characterize in-house composite mixtures, optimize manufacturability and provide structural integrity of all constructed rocket components.
  • Mechanical design, structural analysis, and hands-on experience with power tools/machining is desired but not required.

​

Recovery
  • The Recovery sub-team consists of a manager and 5-6 members whose role is to ensure the full recovery of a rocket through rigorous testing and analysis; this includes the parachutes, recovery computers, and airframe integration.
  • The Recovery sub-team is responsible for designing, building, integrating, and testing the recovery system. The recovery system involves a recovery bay (which houses recovery electronics such as altimeters, GPS, and sometimes cameras), a method of separation and retention, and use of parachutes for nominal recovery.
  • Recovery sub-team members are expected to be proficient in CAD (preferably Solidworks) and have high power rocketry experience. It is suggested that Recovery sub-team members have their HPR Level 1 certification through NAR or Tripoli prior to joining the team. Experience with soldering, structural analysis, and basic understanding of electronic systems is desired but not required.
  • Recovery sub-team members will learn how to conduct recovery system tests, work with various flight computers, spec hardware through force calculations, and troubleshoot electronic systems.
STAY CONNECTED WITH US