• Rocket Diameter: 2.6"

• Max Speed:  Mach 1.8

• Altitude:  16,200ft.

• Acceleration:  35G

• SRM Class: L1000

• Recovery Status:  Fully Recovered

• Launch Date:  July 15, 2023

As a summer project in the summer after my freshman year, I built, at home in California, a fiberglass 2.6" diameter rocket, powered by an Aerotech L1000.  While not performance optimized due to its non-minimum-diameter construction, simulations still indicated an altitude above 15,000ft. and a speed of Mach 1.7+.  As a first "high-altitude" and "high-speed" flight (the terms are used loosely in this context), this rocket was built for survivability and ease of build and integration.  All aerostructures were built from commercial G10 and G12 fiberglass components, and the avionics package featured dual redundant flight computers, a Featherweight Altimeters GPS tracker, and a dual-separation dual-deployment (DSDD) recovery configuration.

Building up the tooling at home to do this project was one of the more complex parts of the summer.  I had been used to using tools and materials readily available in ASU's rocket shop, and had to essentially start from scratch at home.  After a few harbor freight runs, the shop was equipped with a rotary cutting tool, some sandpaper, a 50 dollar belt sander, and about 15 dollars of SendCutSend-made fin alignment jigs.  A couple "Add to Cart"s put me in a world with electronic matches and black powder, ready to build and test a recovery system.

On July 15, the magical red button was pressed, and FAFO flew to 16,200ft. and Mach 1.8 over the Friends of Amateur Rocketry site.  Recovery was done in 110F heat, but regardless, the rocket was fully in-tact and reflyable, and sits on display.