Hoo-Rizon 1: Subscale Sounding Rocket; We Crashed A Rocket, Let’s Not Do That Again

The following capstone project and STS research paper were carried out in tandem. In the time that these projects were being achieved, it was discovered that they both had a direct connection to each other. Specifically, the capstone technical project provided a basis for motivation of the research project. Events and occurrences throughout the capstone project, whether beneficial or detrimental, raised questions and concerns as to whether the capstone was conducted correctly. A research question formed around this idea. As a result of conducting the research project, review and feedback were created to relay to the capstone project and its members. Additionally, the conducted research now serves as a stepping stone for future iterations of the capstone project.

Space technology within the UVA aerospace engineering program is currently limited. As such, students looking to move into the space technology career field may find it difficult to adapt due to lack of experience or skills. To mitigate this, it was determined that space focused capstones were required within the aerospace department. One such capstone was the 2024-2025 UVA Subsonic Sounding Rocket Capstone. The purpose of this capstone project was to design, build, and fly a single-stage, subscale sounding rocket. The goal was to reach a maximum altitude of 3,000 feet, recover the launch vehicle, and acquire atmospheric data. Throughout the year, various design reviews were conducted to demonstrate the progress to the capstone advisors. The requirements were based on the Tripoli Rocketry Association restrictions as well as the team’s aspirations. The team launched the rocket on April 5th after the completion of the rocket. Despite having a recovery failure, team members were able to develop critical skills in problem solving, structural analysis, and control systems, setting the groundwork for consecutive capstones and future job opportunities.

Undergraduate capstones are conducted in university engineering courses across the nation. They are put into a curriculum to provide students with the opportunity to utilize the skills and knowledge they have learned through four years of studying an engineering discipline. Additionally, they serve as a simulation of a professional engineering environment to prepare students for entering the career world. Most students only gain the necessary skills when a capstone is conducted correctly, and are unaware of their lack of experience when a capstone falls through. The recent launch of the 2024-2025 UVA Subscale Sounding Rocket Capstone's rocket ended in an unfortunate failure. While failure of a project can be attributed to malfunction, this project has a more complex reasoning behind its final result. As such, it must be taken into account how a fully functioning capstone is conducted. To compare the shortcomings of the rocket capstone, this paper sets out to explain how technical and non-technical actors influence undergraduate capstone experiences that simulate professional engineering environments. In particular, it will focus on the ability of a capstone network to stabilize and how this affects participating students.

Simultaneously working through these projects has been beneficial to providing an understanding of each project, and gives a mostly definitive solution on how to move forward. The results of the rocket capstone are unfortunate. However, they provide invaluable information on how a similar or identical occurrence can be avoided in the future. Without the knowledge gained from the rocket capstone, little to no thought would have been given to capstone structure. This could have led to a future iteration of the rocket capstone failing as this one, or the previous one, did. With the research project, the opportunity is now provided for current rocket capstone members to reflect on actions and decisions made throughout the project. These can be carried over to their careers, giving them the ability to further succeed. Additionally, future capstone members can use the example of this year's capstone and research results to tailor a capstone course that fits their needs.

School of Engineering and Applied Science

Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering

Technical Advisors: Haibo Dong, Chen Cui, Jiacheng Gou

STS Advisor: Bryn Seabrook

Technical Team Members: Ben Cohen, Ethan Fouch, George Hubbard, Nikita Joy, Youchan Kim, Jacob Lewis, Jean-Pierre Manapsal, Connor Owens, Omid Sayyadli, Kushi Sethuram, Swedha Skandakumar, Laurel Supplee, Christian Vergason, Luke Pritchard