Bring the Cornell Rocketry Team to competition!

The mission:

Cornell Rocketry Team designs, manufactures, and tests a high-powered rocket every year for competition at the International Rocket Engineering Competition. Each June, we travel to Midland, Texas, to compete against 150 other collegiate teams from 22 different countries. The primary goal at the competition is to launch the rocket to exactly 10,000 feet using our Student Research and Developed (SRAD) rocket motors. This past season, we launched our first ever hybrid motor and placed 3rd Place in the 10k Hybrid SRAD category.

Every year, our rocket carries with it a unique scientific payload that leverages the high altitude or high acceleration environment onboard the rocket. The team designs and manufactures almost every part of the rocket in-house, making use of a variety of lab spaces on campus. While competition is the major goal for the team, our primary focus is to provide all of our members with the opportunity to learn and grow as engineers with hands-on experiences. 

This year, Cornell Rocketry is tackling several exciting new initiatives: including air brakes, embedded software, autonomous systems, carbon fiber airframes, and advanced guidance computers. We’re also conducting research and design for our first liquid propulsion motor, planned for 2027. As we wrap up the design phase in the coming weeks, we need your support to help us build our most advanced rocket yet and propel Cornell Rocketry to first place at IREC this summer!

The team:

Our team is made up of 55 members, all with a passion for space and engineering. The team is organized into six different subteams, each of which plays a critical role in making the rocket fly. 

Propulsion:

The propulsion subteam is responsible for designing and manufacturing the motor that lifts the rocket to our target altitude. We recently switched to a hybrid propulsion system, utilizing a solid fuel grain and a liquid oxidizer, which flew for the first time last April. Our biggest challenge is ensuring that the motor stays in one piece while accelerating the red-hot combustion gases out of the nozzle to over 5,000 miles per hour. We manufacture everything in-house, from the nozzle to the casing to the propellant itself.

Recovery and Payload:

The Recovery and Payload subteam designs parachute systems that autonomously navigate the rocket to the ground. Our autonomous recovery systems incorporate sensors, flight computers, steering mechanisms, and, of course, guided parachutes. We also design the rocket’s payload: an original engineering project that we choose each year. In essence, we think of something cool that we want to put on a rocket, and we do just that.

Electrical:

The Electrical subteam designs, manufactures, integrates and tests specialized printed circuit boards (PCBs). These boards perform numerous functions, including data acquisition, signal amplification, communication, and mechanical system actuation. We are one of the few teams at our competition that uses custom Student-Research-and-Designed (SRAD) electronics to trigger flight-critical events, including firing our motor and triggering our separation systems. The electrical subteam also provides electronics support to cross-subteam testing, helping develop a test stand for our hybrid motor and a Brake Line Manipulation System (BLiMS) for recovery. Since the electrical subteam is a key integration point for many subsystems on the rocket, electrical members get a great interdisciplinary team experience, and can use this to go above and beyond with our system architecture for years to come. 

Structures:

The Structures subteam focuses on the designing and manufacturing of structural components within the launch vehicle, integration of systems, and the overall body of the vehicle itself. We see all projects through from ideation to fabrication with machining with metals and working with composite materials such as fiberglass and carbon fiber. Our team also uses simulations to do analysis work on aspects such as drag, internal stresses of the launch vehicle, and stability calculations to ensure the best performance possible for the rocket.

Software:

The Software subteam handles our rocket’s flight software, ground support software, and the communication between them. We are one of the few teams at our competition to use student-written software to control parachute deployment. Our work spans a wide range of fields, including embedded software, systems programming, simulation and modeling, and user interface design. The software team is a great (and fun!) opportunity to experience real, large-scale software development as part of a team!

Business:

The Business Subteam conducts all of the activities that allow the team to run smoothly and effectively. Some of the main focuses of this subteam are website development, advertisement, alumni and sponsorship outreach, merchandising, and social media. This year, the business subteam is focusing on organizing team social events and activities.

Help us blast off:
Designing and building a brand new rocket from the ground up each year takes extensive planning, dedication, and resources. Your donation directly supports the next generation of engineers, empowering us to innovate, experiment with new systems, and launch stronger, more advanced rockets.

Our sponsors play a vital role in our success. In appreciation of their support, sponsors receive monthly newsletter updates on the team’s progress, exclusive access to our design process, guided tours of our workspace, and connections to our talented team members through resume access. Sponsors are also proudly recognized on our website, social media, rocket, and competition apparel.

Thank you for your support!

As a registered student organization, we are committed to equal access to all of our programs and do not discriminate based on any protected identity status.