Solids Team
The CU Boulder Sounding Rocket Laboratory’s Solids Team combines expertise in solid rocket propulsion, composite manufacturing, and vehicle design to create state-of-the-art sounding rockets. The Solids Team consists of propulsion development, structures and materials, and vehicle design sub-teams. Together, they form a premier collegiate rocketry team.
Propulsion Development
The mission of propulsion development team is to produce solid rocket motors at an unprecedented scale for a student team. We’ve accumulated a wealth of knowledge over the past three years of the program, and have static fired upwards of two dozen composite motors, ranging in diameter from 1 inch to 10 inches.
Together with structures and materials sub-team, the propulsion development sub-team create the composite motor team.
The composite motor team is responsible for designing, manufacturing, and testing the propulsion systems that power all of SRL’s solid-fueled motors. Our long-term goal is to create low-cost and lightweight carbon fiber motors to enable frequent research flights from the CU community. We work with new materials such as carbon fiber, kevlar, ceramics, and more to develop casing and nozzle designs as we improve motor technology. Composite motor rapidly designs, builds, tests motors to scale up to the R class booster powering Spaceshot.
2023 - 2024 Stats
15 Motors fired
9 Successful characterization static fires
309.75 lbs of propellant manufactured
Composites, Structures and Materials
The Composites team is responsible for the design, fabrication, and testing of the composite structures that make up our rockets. We manufacture motor casings, airframes, nose cones, and other mission-critical parts using custom layups and our in-house 2-axis filament winder. In addition to manufacturing, the team performs material characterization through mechanical and thermal testing to ensure strength, safety, and performance in extreme environments. Our members gain experience in composite laminate theory, destructive testing, and safety-driven manufacturing practices.With Mamba III serving as our testbed vehicle, we’re laying the groundwork for the more demanding structures of SRL’s upcoming Spaceshot project. The team works closely with Propulsion, Vehicle Design, and Avionics to ensure all components meet mission-critical loads while pushing the envelope of student-led composite development.
2024 – 2025 Stats
2 carbon fiber motor casings filament-wound
10 insulators designed and manufactured
24 destructive tests performed
1300+ PSI withstood in static pressure testing
700+ PSI and 5840 °F withstood during static fire testing
Vehicle Design & Development
The Vehicle team oversees the comprehensive design and integration of the vehicle. They are responsible for bringing together all the critical components, including the airframe, motor, and avionics, ensuring that each part functions seamlessly as a cohesive system.
Collaborating with the Propulsion Development and Structures and Materials subteams, they use advanced modeling and simulation tools to predict and optimize the rocket's flight performance.
In addition to design and simulation, the Vehicle Team is also responsible for the rocket's recovery. They develop recovery methods to ensure that the rocket can return safely to the ground after its mission.
