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

Structures and Materials

The structures and materials sub-team is responsible for designing and constructing the composite components of our rockets. They handle composite layups and operate our 2 and 4 axis winders to build composite motor casings, airframes, and other crucial parts. By characterizing the materials used, they ensure optimal performance and durability. This team works closely with other Solids subteams to meet all mission requirements.

SRL’s innovative Composite Motor Development program and vehicle manufacturing techniques give students a unique insight on composite structural theory, manufacturing methods, and safety.

Vehicle

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.