SBAerospace
Research. Projects. Competition.
Everything we've built, studied, and flown: organized by category.
Active Airbrake System
Three servo-actuated flaps that autonomously deploy mid-flight to bleed off speed and hit a precise target apogee. Runs a PID control loop with Kalman-filtered altitude data from our custom avionics.
Rocket++
Our in-house flight computer. State machine-based flight detection, dual-deploy ejection charge firing, telemetry logging to onboard flash, and a custom PCB laid out in KiCad.
CircuitSpace
A web-based circuit simulator built from scratch in JavaScript. Made so members can learn schematic design and simulate basic circuits without needing paid tools or local installs.
ARC 2025 Competition Rocket
Our American Rocketry Challenge build. G12 fiberglass airframe, dual-deploy recovery, and Rocket++ for avionics. We rely on OpenRocket simulations to model stability, test hypothetical wind conditions, and tune the flight profile to target exactly 800 ft.
Airbrake CFD Analysis
Computational fluid dynamics study of our airbrake geometry at transonic speeds. Used OpenFOAM to characterize drag at various deployment angles and validated against RASAero simulations.
Flight Data Post-Processing
Python pipeline for pulling, cleaning, and visualizing flight data from Rocket++ logs. Reconstructs flight profiles, checks sensor agreement, and exports CSVs for simulation comparison.
Fin FEA Study
Finite element analysis of our trapezoidal fin geometry under max-Q aerodynamic loading. Compared G10 fiberglass vs. carbon fiber layups to optimize stiffness-to-weight ratio.
American Rocketry Challenge 2025
Our current ARC entry. The challenge: hit an 800 ft target altitude, land within a 40-45 second flight window, and bring back an unbroken raw egg. We're building a full custom rocket with in-house avionics to do it.
American Rocketry Challenge 2024
Our first ARC season. We built, flew, and competed, marking the beginning of a lot we're still learning from.