Rocket Project Solids

As a Lead Launch Vehicle Engineer on the University of California Irvine Rocket Project Solids Team, I am responsible for leading a group of engineers to design and manufacture our rockets structure. In this role, I oversee the entire engineering process from its initial design to its final assembly. All while ensuring the rocket meets its designated requirements as outlined by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association for

Spaceport America Cup

Convention Day

During the convention at spaceport America, I was able to talk about the design process of our Level 3 rocket names RPS-001. During the judging panel, I explained in depth the design decisions, manufacturing techniques, and the rigioruous documentation our team went though.

Learn about Spaceport America Cup using this link! https://spaceportamericacup.com/about/

Launch Day

On launch day, UCI Rocket Project Solids put our rocket to the test to see if we could compete amongst long establish teams from around the country and around the world. My team and I spent the first hours of the competition setting up the rocket to be inspected and approved for launch. We had a succesful launch and recovery of UCI's first ever competition rocket.

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Level 3 Rocket Launch and Recovery at F.A.R Launch Site

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Manufacturing Level 2 Rocket Fins

My first task on the team was to design and fabricate a rocket fin to use on our level 2 rocket. My partner and I were able to utilized Solidworks to create a 2D drawing in which we could send to a laser cutter. We then used that fin, sanded the edges to create a subsonic airfoil shape, and prepared it for a carbon fiber layup

With the help of my team, we were able to manufacture the fins on our rocket. Using the techniques given by our team lead, and the documentation, we did 4 separate layups on each side of the rocket. Each with a cure time of 24 hours. Each time I did it, and each time I looked at what we had done previously, I took notes and documented what we did right and what we did wrong. Overall we learned a lot from doing so, and with more practice I can refine my layup technique in order to do layups faster and to teach others so that they can also learn this cool new trick

Level 2 Rocket Launch and Recovery at F.A.R Launch Site

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Learning New Skills

This Carbon Fiber Fin was the first time doing so. My partner and I followed the instructions given by our team lead to practice for our level 2 rocket. I used what I learned to create a comprehensive document about the proper procedure of a Carbon Fiber Layup

Documentation was something that the team wanted to improve upon. There was little to no official procedures that were made last year, which created some consistency problems as well as manufacturing problems. So this year we deemed it necessary to write down and create procedures for everything we do in order to create a smooth assembly for the rocket as well as making it easier for new members to learn how to manufacture correctly in their respective roles.

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