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Georgia Tech Experimental Rocketry
A RAMBLIN' ROCKET CLUB PROJECT
Full-Scale Sounding Rockets
The Georgia Tech Experimental Rocketry project is the Ramblin' Rocket Club's initiative to design, build, and launch the first student-led 2-stage rocket to the Kármán Line. Boasting over 50 active members and 4 major launches, GTXR is a great pathway for any aspiring student looking to get real engineering experience on a developed project team.
Propulsion
Student-Researched and Student-Developed Motors
The propulsion team designs, manufactures, and tests the motors that propel GTXR's rockets. The team develops complex nozzle assemblies, motor casings, and ignition hardware for a variety of flight conditions. In addition to motor development, the propulsion team also develops and characterizes custom propellant formulas, making variations on the current ammonium-perchlorate-based propellant, which is produced in-house. With a significant flight heritage of testing 6-inch-diameter motors, the Propulsion Team developed an 8-inch booster motor that was flown on Fire on High, and is continuing to improve the 8-inch motor to be deployed on future vehicles.
Avionics
Flight Computer Development, Event Sequencing, Communications, Cameras
The Avionics Team develops all electronic systems on and off of the rocket. They develop and manufacture custom PCBs for altimetry, state estimation, staging, parachute deployment, power, video recording, and temperature data-logging. They also write processing scripts and algorithms to communicate with our ground station and detect important flight events, such as apogee and motor burnout.
Structures
Internal Vehicle Assembly and Composite Aerostructures
The GTXR Structures Team is responsible for designing, manufacturing, and testing all structural and mechanical systems on the rocket. This includes the airframe, fins, and internal structures that interface with the flight avionics and motors. It also includes the rocket's staging system, deployment systems, and parachute and recovery systems.
Simulations
Two-Stage Sounding Rocket Design and Optimization
The simulations team is responsible for determining the high-level design and performance features of GTXR's vehicles, ranging from motor grain geometry to iterative fin design. The team uses a range of vehicle design software and tools, such as RASAero and RocketPy, to create a full-stack optimizer for a two-stage sounding rocket. This software, developed in-house, drives the most important design parameters for overall vehicle design. It also provides predictions of flight performance that are useful for recovery after the flight.
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Mission Log
Mission | Est Launch | Launch Date |
|---|---|---|
Strange Magic | Oct 2024 | |
Fire on High | July 2024 | 07/13/2024 |
Material Girl | July 2023 | 07/11/2023 |
Mr. Blue Sky | July 2022 | 07/06/2022 |
Rubberband Man | June 2021 | 06/29/2021 |
Sustain Alive | June 2019 | 06/20/2019 |