Tasks
● Designed a two-stage rocket recovery system for a 100 lb hybrid rocket going to 30,000 ft
● Designed and built every aspect downstream of the flight computers
● Owned sourcing, manufacturing, integration, and testing of the recovery system
● Worked within constraints that ruled out black powder-based systems, which are common in experimental rocketry, due to safety and noise concerns
Actions
● Designed a CO2-actuated system deploying a drogue at apogee and a main parachute at a lower altitude, both from the same compact bay
● Integrated a mix of custom and commercial parts to ensure complete reliability
● Used shear screws, shock cords, swivels, and o-rings to ensure smooth functionality
● Wrote a MATLAB tool to size parachutes for minimum deployment shock force and ground impact speed
● Manufactured a lightweight aluminum recovery bulkhead to withstand over 2,000 lbf of shock
● Designed maximally redundant wiring linking the recovery hardware to the rocket flight computers
● Ran ejection and full-stack tests on the integrated recovery system
Results
● Achieved 100% reliability when triggered correctly by the flight computers
● Used in Columbia's first fully successful launch and recovery in June 2024
● Still in use by Columbia after I graduated
