Hoo-Rizon 1: Subscale Sounding Rocket; Space Industry, Economics, and the Role of Government

The United States space industry is known as an industry built upon innovation and
autonomy. One might believe that this innovation is a matter of a growing industry that spans
between the private and public sectors. However, the space industry is riddled with regulations
that prevent growth and is either directly or indirectly funded by the government. Therefore, it is
a field that is highly restrictive and heavily influenced by the government. For our capstone, we
try to address this problem by allowing easier access to the space industry by detailing how to
build a small-scale sounding rocket– a rocket designed to measure atmospheric conditions. In
my Science, Technology, and Society (STS) research paper, I also analyze why this industry has
slowed.

This capstone initiative will allow easier access to this industry by removing the
educational learning curve, explaining the regulations to help comply with laws, and introducing
resources to buy parts. By doing this, it will allow greater access to aerospace as an industry by
simplifying the complexity of developing the rocket. This is incredibly important since the
resources available to develop this technology are often restricted due to the regulations and
learning curve involved in this process. Similarly, by the end of the capstone, our group will have
built a complete small sounding rocket, therefore, allowing the sponsor, the University of
Virginia, to display and showcase our work as students. Finally, all plans will be open source,
and our knowledge will be there for any prospective aerospace student or space industry
enthusiast. It is important that this framework is available to those wanting this information
because it breaks down the human and social dimensions of this technology by allowing greater
access to information within this field.

To understand this restrictive field, it is helpful to review this through the STS framework
of Technological Politics. Technological Politics, proposed by Langdon Winner, suggests that
technologies have the effect of creating power and injustice, which often influence power
dynamics. Certain technologies in themselves have political properties, and the space industry is
defined by technologies that need to be reviewed by the government since they are a concern to
homeland security. The specific problem our team visited was how to make the space industry
more accessible. Throughout the journey of developing this framework, our team discovered that
Technological Politics does dominate the space industry, as we found that many procedures and
plans were hindered due to engine testing and receiving permits to launch and test.

I believe that this capstone project defines a true analysis and procedure to help all those
interested in this space industry and explains how there are many moving parts in developing an
aerospace project. In the following STS research paper, I describe how government regulation
and economics prevent aerospace innovation and how this prevents prospective students from
entering this field. By developing this project and creating this procedure, it will allow others to
get more involved with this industry.

School of Engineering and Applied Science

Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering

Technical Advisor: J Guo, Chris Goyne

STS Advisor: Sean Murray, Benjamin Laugelli

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