Aerospace Club turns heads in first rocketry competition

Aerospace Club’s launch into the world of rocketry competition got off to a smooth start in the club’s inaugural contest at the International Rocket Engineering Competition near Midland, Texas, June 16-20.

Results had not been released when this article was posted June 30. However, Turner Marr, outgoing president of the South Dakota State University club, said he expects a strong showing. “We’re proud we were able to get within 300 to 400 feet of the 10,000-foot target altitude. You get a lot of points if you’re able to go into second inspection and the rocket is deemed flyable again. We maximized the amount of points from recovery.”

The contest at Spaceport near Midland, Texas, is conducted by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association on behalf of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

It is considered the largest collegiate rocket competition in the world with more than 150 collegiate teams competing. Each team designs, builds, tests and launches rockets with a payload size of 2 kilograms or 4.4 pounds and target altitudes of either 10,000, 30,000 or 45,000 feet. SDSU competed in the 10,000-foot category, the contest’s most popular.

The first two days of the contest are at the Horseshoe Pavillion convention center in Midland for poster presentations and inspections.

“We passed inspection on first go. The judges were very impressed with us. We had a very high-quality rocket with our machining processes, and the wrap we had on it looked very professional,” said Marr, who has just completed his first year of graduate studies in mechanical engineering at SDSU.

Jeffrey Doom, an associate professor in mechanical engineering and the club’s adviser, said, “Our students set a high standard from day one. They dedicated countless hours to designing and building the rocket.”

Students began working on rocket in September

While the SDSU entry, Hare Force 1, was powered by a commercial, off-the-shelf motor, there was a huge number of hours spent designing and building the 7-foot tall and 6-inch diameter rocket.

Aerospace Club at SDSU was formed during the 2024-25 school year and did have a few members observe last year’s contest. In September 2025, the club of 20 members began studying design options with construction of the rocket’s fiberglass shell beginning in December 2025 The final detail was an SDSU yellow vinyl wrap with “Hare Force 1” in SDSU blue.

Doom noted, “We wanted the rocket to reflect SDSU pride. The yellow body with the blue 'Hare Force 1' lettering gave it a unique identity and made it instantly recognizable.”

Short, fast flight net big satisfaction

Hare Force 1 used a solid propellent motor, meaning a granular chemical composition is ignited using a pyrotechnic ignition system that is triggered from the site’s rocket pad, Marr explained. It generated enough speed to cause the rocket to nearly reach the speed of sound — Mach .8 or 613 mph at peak speed, he said.

Dylan Gruenes, the club’s incoming president, said, “Black powder injection charges ignite to separate the rocket and allow the parachute to be released.” 

Peak height is reached in 15 seconds with the drift back to the sagebrush and cactus of southwest Texas taking about two minutes. So, in essence, a year’s worth of work is wrapped up in less than three minutes.

However, the hours spent in campus labs, at a test site in Nebraska, driving the 2,400 miles to Texas and back, and long hours spent in the 110-degree heat and wind was a worthwhile sacrifice, Marr said.

“All the teams go through the same struggles in building a rocket, and the rocketry community is very supportive. Everyone understands the time and effort poured into building a rocket. Everyone was very shocked how well we built our rocket and how well we prepared for the completion. 

“Even being a first-year team, we stood out. We got compliments from some of the tournament directors and other astronautic officials.”

Doom added his congratulations. “I am incredibly proud of our students. Their commitment, perseverance, and countless hours of hard work paid off. This accomplishment is an important milestone for our Aerospace Club.”

Rocket builders rely on sponsors

Marr wanted to add appreciation to the team’s corporate and university sponsors. The cost to build a rocket can easily top $10,000 and even approach $15,000, he said. The cost of the one-time use motor is $850. So, with a couple of test launches, that expense hits $2,500. Add to that the cost of flight controllers, tubing and student-made parts.

Housed inside the rocket was a payload of 2.08 kilograms. Rules required a payload of at least 2 kilograms with students allowed to choose their payload.

Gruenes said SDSU chose a vibrational dampening system, similar to noise canceling headphones. In this case, a sensor read the vibrations, and a speaker would produce an equal amount of counter vibration. “We choose to do the vibrational dampening because sometimes computer components and crystals can be damaged by vibrations,” he said.

The SDSU delegation included 11 students, Doom and a Level 3 certified rocketry hobbyist from the Wayne, Nebraska, test site. The club members were Level 1 and 2 certified, but a Level 3 mentor is required for each team.

An awards ceremony planned for June 20 was canceled because high winds (30-plus mph) and rains forced a couple different launch delays and left organizers scrambling to complete the launches.

Marr concluded, “The rocket build is very complex. We noticed a lot of launches down there failed for various reasons. Even the logistics at the competition site are challenging. We got a really good grasp of that for next year. We did everything right for being our first year down there.”