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K. Adlington

Level 1 Rocketry

UC Aerospace's introductory rocketry programme: rocket design, aerodynamics, stability and propulsion, and a first look at the avionics that monitor and control a flight.

Introductory rocketry · UC Aerospace

Role
UC Aerospace member — Rocketry Program
Timeframe
Earliest UC Aerospace rocketry work

Level 1 Rocketry was my first real introduction to rocket design, flight dynamics and avionics — working with actual rockets rather than just reading about the theory.

During the programme I gained practical experience in designing rockets, which meant understanding aerodynamics, stability and propulsion. I was also introduced to avionics systems, and to how sensors and flight computers are integrated to monitor and control a rocket’s flight.

The Level 1 rocket at the moment of launch, climbing on a bright plume of sparks and smoke from the pad. Tussock farmland runs back to a line of low hills under a partly clouded sky.
Figure 38:Level 1 launch
The Level 1 rocket standing on its fins indoors, roughly shoulder height. It is painted black with green bands, a green nose cone and green fins, with DRACARYS lettered down the body tube.
Figure 39:Level 1 rocket

That hands-on exposure is what let me see how theoretical concepts in physics and engineering translate into real-world aerospace applications. The grounding it gave me in rocket design, avionics and flight systems is what the more advanced rocketry and embedded systems projects here were built on.

Technologies

Rocket Design & StabilityAerodynamicsPropulsion FundamentalsSensor & Flight Computer Integration

Key outcomes

Gained a working foundation in rocket design, stability, and avionics integration that directly carried into every later UC Aerospace project.