Cap Tech's Own Space Race
May 17, 2021Everyone knows that Capitol Tech students soar to new heights academically, but for a small group of passionate hobbyists, the figurative just isn’t enough. They spend hours working with hands-on applications of complex math and scientific concepts to create powerful devices that literally defy gravity. Rather than sit indoors and only discuss their craft in theoretical terms, they prefer to test the limits of physics and launch the fruits of their labor into space. They are the Capitol Rocketry Club, and they will stop at nothing to see just how high they can go.
Rocketry club vice president, science lover, and rising Cap Tech senior Christian Michael recently achieved his level 2 high powered rocketry certification, which means he’s able to launch high-powered rockets whose motors fall within a certain impulse class. There are 3 levels of certification, and the higher you go, the higher your rocket can go. The certification process involves building and launching a model rocket which is assessed by a team who checks for competence in safety and construction practices. High-powered rocketry differs from standard model rocketry in that high-powered rockets have more powerful motors and can therefore go higher and faster, some even capable of reaching supersonic speeds.
Michael, who has been involved in hobby rocketry since childhood, developed a more serious fascination with high-powered rocketry in high school. The concept of such small motors having the capability to launch huge, incredibly fast rockets into the stratosphere was thrilling. Size, however, was more of a secondary focus for Michael-- he was all about the speed. Ever since, he has been on a mission to create the fastest rockets possible.
There are two main model rocketry organizations in the U.S.-- the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) and the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA). Michael explained that the NAR was founded as a safety-critical rocketry organization due to a lot of disastrous results from experimental motor building back in the 1950s. The lack of access to technologically advanced computing prevented people from building safe and effective motors, and many launches ended in catastrophe. “The NAR was made so people wouldn’t blow themselves up,” Michael laughed. Now, to launch high-powered rockets, one must be NAR certified. The TRA, on the other hand, is more encouraging of experimental motor builds, but still has many rules in place for safety. Michael is a member of both. Currently, some federal regulations exist for hobby rocketry, but there is not incredibly strict oversight. Enthusiasts hope to keep it this way to avoid being struck down by tighter restrictions. Because of this, rocketry organizations take safety very seriously and establish their own oversight to avoid major disasters and other occurrences that could potentially lead to greater governmental interference in the hobby.
Members of the Capitol Rocketry Club use a large Maryland sod farm for their launches, in partnership with the Maryland Delaware Rocketry Association (MDRA), located just over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. “We consider ourselves spoiled for how close the launch site is, I only have to drive about an hour to get there!” Michael said. Rocket launches are always an exciting event, and Michael encourages spectators to come and watch all of the different rockets blast off.
Of course, not every launch goes smoothly. Because model rockets are such complex devices, there are a host of things that can go wrong. Exploding motors, fins ripping off, burning propellant… there is truly no limit to what can happen in a failed launch. Usually most of these issues are harmless to humans, but occasional threats do happen. Michael recalls a particularly terrifying time when a rocket “chuffed,” meaning it lost pressure due to its internal flames being extinguished, and made a beeline towards the crowd of spectators. Everyone was okay as the rocket didn’t hit anyone, but it could have easily been a tragedy. Another flight gone wrong that Michael witnessed involved a rocket that flipped and flew sideways due to a miscalculation with stability. Clearly rocketry is not for the faint of heart, but to the average fanatic, it’s all just part of the fun.
In order to pay for these launches and the supplies needed for building, the 16-member Capitol Rocketry Club receives financial funding each semester. For high-powered rocketry specifically, they received funding from a grant that professor Alex ‘Sandy’ Antunes helped acquire. Michael, who was once president of the club, stepped down to the vice presidential role in order to leave more time for his personal rocketry endeavors. Now that he has achieved his level 2 NAR certification, he is working towards level 3 at the encouragement of Professor Antunes. He hopes to achieve this over the summer and prove that for rocketry lovers, not even the sky is the limit.
Click the two links below to see some examples of high-powered rocketry in action!
To learn more about the Capitol Rocketry Club and inquire about joining, please email capitolrocketryclub@gmail.com