Rensselaer Rocket Society: Project Ascendant

The Mission

Rensselaer Rocket Society (RRS) is designing, testing, and launching a rocket that will go to space! We call it: Project Ascendant. It is a two-stage rocket with a 6-inch diameter booster and a 4-inch diameter sustainer, engineered to set a new collegiate standard in efficient structural design and propulsion for sounding rockets.

What You’re Supporting

RRS students have developed and characterized stage-specific ammonium perchlorate composite propellants for this mission, conducting over 15 static fires and strand burning tests. The booster propellant is highly aluminized, offering a fast burn-rate and large thrust to ensure a straight initial boost. This propellant contains burn rate suppressants, trading burn rate to maximize altitude.

As for the aerostructures, the airframe is made of aerospace grade aluminum and composites, which is designed and fabricated in-house. The geometry of the fins is optimized to maximize dynamic and static stability margins while withstanding the resulting aerodynamic forces from the hypersonic regime, as Project Ascendant is slated to reach speeds up to Mach 5.4.

The cost of chemicals, machining, raw materials, testing, and avionics add up to $20,000. We are asking you to donate to make this project possible. No amount is too little. The School of Engineering has promised to match every dollar you donate up to $5,000!

The team of individuals behind this project are devoted to becoming the next generation of engineers and leaders in the space-launch industry, holding the highest concentration of high-powered rocketry certifications of any college. A donation would not only help RRS reach space but the greater RPI community, showing what students can achieve when they put their minds to it. 

Thank you so much for your help, we'll do everything we can to make this impossible job possible!

Who We Are

Rensselaer Rocket Society designs and builds high-powered rockets and their payloads to participate in various high-powered rocketry events and competitions. RRS works to foster the learning and application of aerospace engineering, as well as designing rockets through work on various other projects. RRS strives to increase RPI’s acclaim in high-power rocketry and aerospace circles.

Your support will help RPI students in their aerospace endeavors now and in the future. Our projects provide our members with lucrative opportunities in the aerospace industry, from NASA to government contractors to space startups. We also do community outreach between our NRB event, helping local scouts, and more.

For more information, visit the RRS website.