L1 Rocket

Overview

Independent project · September 2025–January 2026 · Completed

Individually designed, manufactured, and launched an L1 High Powered Rocket.

Result

The January 10, 2026 flight at Spaceport Rocketry Association in Palm Bay, Florida separated cleanly and deployed its parachute, completing the certification flight and recovery.

Tools: OpenRocket · SOLIDWORKS · ANSYS Fluent · 3D printing · Laser cutting

Background

High powered rocketry (HPR) is the design and manufacture of rockets utilizing H class, 160N×s total impulse, or greater motors. The field of HPR is highly technical and requires an extensive amount of learning and guidance to be successful. There are nationally recognized certifications that demonstrate your understanding and knowledge of HPR, these are L1, L2, and L3 certifications, offered by either the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) or Tripoli. To achieve an L1 certification you must design, manufacture, and successfully launch and recover a rocket that uses a H to I class, 160N×s to 640N×s total impulse, motor.

Design & simulation

I designed my L1 rocket in OpenRocket, an open-source software that simulates the aerodynamics and trajectory of a virtually defined rocket to predict flight performance and stability (see Figure 6). I designed my rocket with an Ogive-style nosecone which operates well in subsonic flight regimes, while an ellipsoid nosecone would have been slightly more optimal I have a non-engineering reason for choosing the pointy one. I chose elliptical fins for their minimal drag and center-separation with motor ejection as the recovery deployment scheme. The motor I selected was a 29mm Aerotech H135W, which has a 226 N×s total impulse, and met the requirements for certification. OpenRocket simulation shows an apogee of 1850ft and 100s flight time with a ground hit velocity of 21.1ft/s.

I modeled my rocket in SOLIDWORKS. My model included internal components like fin tabs, centering rings, and bulkheads. This assisted with sizing material during procurement and ensured manufacturability and compatibility of components.

Additionally, I used my 3D model to run ANSYS Fluent Flow simulation which gave me aerodynamics on key components such as my fins and nosecone.

Manufacturing

My rocket consisted of:
• Nosecone • Quicklink
• Upper body tube • Shock Cord
• Coupler tube • 4 Fins
• Bulkhead • Motor Tube
• Lower body tube • 3 Centering Rings
• Parachute • Motor Retainer

The body tube was a 3in diameter 48in length cardboard poster tube purchased off the shelf from Office Depot. The motor tube was a 29mm diameter 14in length cardboard inner tube purchased off the shelf from LOC Precision. Recovery equipment such as a 30in ripstop-nylon parachute, a 5ft Kevlar shock cord, and a 12in Nomex fire blanket were purchased off the shelf from Apogee Rockets. Any fastener or hardware like quick-links or eyehooks were purchased from Home Depot and Ace Hardware.

The entire rocket was epoxied together using JB Weld and spray painted with the name “Dart” in ironic reference to a lawn dart which is the opposite of what I wanted the rocket to behave like in flight. This could also be called foreshadowing, but I am an engineer not a storyteller so how could I have known.

Failure, recovery & iteration

Dart’s maiden flight was on December 13th, 2025, out of Spaceport Rocketry Association (SRA) regional launch site in Palm Bay, FL. It flew straight as could be and the recovery ejection charge deployed right on time at an apogee of around 1,850ft. The parachute exited the body tube after center separation; however, it failed to deploy due to entanglement with its shroud lines. Dart plummeted around 1,850ft and struck the ground at 57.4ft/s (39mph) according to OpenRocket simulation. I was devastated at the time but before I had even inspected Dart after the crash, I purchased another motor because I was going to try again.

Dart suffered substantial damage to its upper stage, the plummet resulted in the cardboard airframe tearing almost entirely apart just before the nosecone. Overall, the damage was entirely repairable and localized to just that one spot. I was determined to salvage what I could and give Dart another chance.

I removed and recovered the nosecone and discarded the damaged airframe and coupler tube as well as the bulkhead it was attached to. I purchased another poster tube and used a spare bulkhead I had laser cut prior as well as the recovered nosecone to rebuild the upper stage. I spent a substantial amount of time researching parachute packing and testing deployment to avoid another catastrophe.

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