A team of students at the University of Southern California has officially set a new record for the highest amateur space launch. The rocket, Aftershock II, reached a height of about 470,000 feet (approximately 90 miles), surpassing the previous record by about 80,000 feet. The successful launch took place on October 20, but it took the student team roughly a month to verify the data.
This data revealed that the amateur rocket traveled at roughly five-and-a-half times the speed of sound during the launch. To perform the test, students from the USC Rocket Propulsion Lab traveled to the Black Rock Desert, known for its suitable conditions for rocket launches. However, the team faced challenges including a rainstorm that threatened to delay the launch.
“We were pretty much being told that the entire playa was covered in water and that we wouldn’t be able to go out and launch,” said Jayna Rybner, the lab’s operations lead. Despite the adverse conditions, the team decided to proceed with the launch after the rain subsided. Following the rocket’s successful flight, the team had to recover it.
Thanks to the built-in GPS, recovery was straightforward, involving some off-road driving.
Student rocket launch success
“When we heard the news that the rocket had been recovered, everyone back at camp started screaming,” Rybner said.
The rocket’s name, Aftershock II, indicates that this was not the team’s first attempt. The previous iteration, Aftershock, failed last year due to an ignition issue. The USC Rocket Propulsion Lab has nearly 20 years of experience in rocket-building and became the first student lab to cross the threshold into space in 2019.
Looking ahead, Kraemer anticipates the team will retain the record for some time. The legal limit for amateur rocketry is 490,000 feet, and the team’s rocket reached 470,000 feet. “To attempt to beat that and hope that the rocket doesn’t go just a little higher, it would be questionable,” Kraemer noted.
Future teams could further this work by applying for a permit to exceed the legal limit and designing rockets that can carry more payloads. Despite preparing for graduation, both Kraemer and Rybner expressed excitement about continuing their work with the lab and witnessing future innovations in amateur rocket design. “There are probably close to 100 students actively working right now on projects and designs that will make the next generations’ rocketry way beyond anything that we’ve ever done,” Rybner said.
“It’s truly very impressive.”
