Rocketry

IGNITORS

Interdisciplinary Group for Navigation, Innovation, and Thrust Optimization of Rockets – Texas A&M University

As the Structures Lead, I own the end‑to‑end structural development of a 10k ft Commercial‑Off‑The‑Shelf hybrid rocket headed to the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) in June 2025. Since team formation in November 2024 we have delivered a flight‑ready prototype, secured sponsorships, and sourced manufacturing partners — all on track for our first launch campaign.

| My Role & Scope

Led a 12‑person sub‑team through requirements, CAD, FEA, and manufacturing.
Developed an internal composite design toolbox (Python) that cut laminate sizing time by 60 %.
Mentored team in SolidWorks, ANSYS Mechanical, Classical Lamination Theory, and Tsai‑Wu failure envelopes.

| System Architecture

Sub‑system	Material / Method	Why	Source
Airframe (4″ Ø)	G12 filament‑wound fiberglass tube	Radio‑transparency	Wildman Rocketry
Nose cone	3:1 ogive fiberglass + CNC Al-tip	Optimized σ/weight & k/weight	Madcow Rocketry
Bulkheads	G10 laminate	High modulus	CNC Water-jet machining
Fins	Birch Plywood	Easy Manufacturing	CNC Laser Cutting
Centering rings	PETG 3‑D printed (100% infill)	Rapid iteration	3D Printed
Bonding	West System 105/206 epoxy	Aerospace pedigree	West Systems

| Analysis & Verification

Flight modelling – OpenRocket & RASAero II predict apogee 12,172 ft AGL @ Mach 0.924 with 5.53 cal stability margin.
FEA – ANSYS Static Structural on orthotropic lay‑ups shows ≥ 2.5 × limit‑load safety factor.

| Design & Analysis Pipeline

| Integration & Testing Milestones

ASTM-D695-91 – Compression Testing not possible due to our body tube’s 4” diameter barely exceeding testing apparatus capability. In addition, there is not enough material to test for buckling failure criteria with the recommended 10:1 length-to-diameter ratio.
ASTM-D3039-95 - Two flat samples were tested with mutually perpendicular orientations to obtain axial & circumferntial strength values
ASTM-D2290 - Out-of-plane tensile hoop strength properties for body tubes
Static fire & Flight Readiness Review – June 2025.

| Impact & Lessons Learned

This was an excellent experience in regards to managing a team, composites, and setting the foundation for an efficient workflow that enabled our structures team to accelerate progress in the future. Most importantly, running design reviews as “teaching sprints” boosted team‑wide analytical intuition — raising quality faster than any solo effort.

TL;DR – Led structures on a 10k ft hybrid rocket, validated 2.5 × SF composites, mentored 12 engineers, and will put the vehicle on the pad at IREC 2025.