Student Design, Development And Operation Of Sounding Rockets At The United States Air Force Academy

Abstract

Abstract : The FalconLAUNCH program is a unique, dynamic rocket launch vehicle research program that serves as a capstone course for Astronautical Engineering majors at the United States Air Force Academy. The goal of the program is to give students the opportunity to Learn Space by Doing Space. The program results in a rocket launched into the upper atmosphere every year. It is conducted in the same manner required of a civilian company or Air Force organization delivering a new aerospace vehicle for use by the USAF or NASA. In addition to the design and construction of the rockets, students must meet all of the typical Department of Defense (DoD) milestones, including preparing and briefing the Alternative Systems Review (ASR), Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Critical Design Reviews(CDR), and (most recently) a report of failure analysis and cause determination. These reviews are given to and evaluated by members of the civilian aerospace community and scientists and engineers from U.S. Air Force space and propulsion organizations outside of the Academy. Each student is required to become familiar with the overall vehicle and become an expert in their particular subsystem. They develop skills in researching available technology, evaluating design and fabrication options, and then building or contracting out flight hardware. This paper discusses the current status of the FalconLAUNCH program, the challenges of an almost complete turnover of personnel every year, and the dynamics of managing the design, construction, and flying of a supersonic rocket every year by a completely student team.