USCRPL’s Traveler IV
The first entirely student-designed, built, and launched rocket to fly to space
I helped lead University of Southern California’s undergrad-run Rocket Propulsion Laboratory through this launch as the head of avionics. In this capacity I led the development of all electronics and software used to manufacture & fly the vehicle, including our custom-built avionics system.
I also led the effort to design the launch procedures, after procedural problems led to the failure of the Traveler III rocket launch in 2018, and sat at the terminal as mission control officer for the flight.
Finally, after the launch, I supervised the effort to determine a flight path from the avionics data, and subsequently publish a whitepaper explaining our methodology, to which I contributed several sections and was the final editor.
The avionics system performed well in-flight, aside from a few sensor glitches detailed in the whitepaper; in particular, our COTS GPS unit lost lock during most of the flight due to the altitude and high speed of the craft. The system successfully deployed the parachutes & recorded high-speed flight data from all sensors, and transferred it over radio link during the descent to the avionics base station. The rocket and avionics system both survived the flight & landing intact and functional, and were recovered ~20mi from the launch point.
Traveler IV Quick Facts
- Max altitude: 339,800 ft (± 16,500 ft) ; 103.6km
- Max acceleration: 18.8g (184 m/s²)
- Max speed: 1514 m/s (Mach 5.1)
- Total flight time: ~11 minutes
- Engine: Aluminum-based solid rocket motor; burn time 13s
- Launch location: Spaceport America, New Mexico
- Supervision & operations: Entirely by USC undergrads
- My role: Avionics lead
Media
Documentary about the vehicle and team (start at 22:58 for the launch):
In-flight footage from the flight to space
Whitepaper describing the performance of the vehicle:
Launch procedures document I wrote & used during the launch to precisely coordinate with 50+ other engineers in the desert on a strict 3.5-hr timeline.
Overview flowchart I designed describing the full launch procedure for all lab members on the day of the launch; printed & kept in-hand by all team leads on day of launch.
Traveler IV after landing; the craft is black due to the paint + outer sacrificial material layers on the nosecone + fins ablating off during flight.
Launch-critical members of the avionics team saying goodbye to the avionics system on the morning of the launch, prior to its integration into the nosecone.
Traveler IV hanging from the ceiling of lab after its successful mission:
All USCRPL members posing with the rocket the night before launch:
