The USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (RPL) hit a new milestone this month with a record-breaking launch.
On March 4th, Fathom II, a rocket designed and manufactured entirely by USC students, reached an altitude of 144,000 feet, the most successful launch in the history of the USCRPL.
The launching of Fathom II was part of the space race between campus-based rocket clubs; where criteria included the rocket's design, manufacture, launch and intact recovery. Fathom II's altitude of 144,000 feet was not only the most successful in RPL's history, but also the highest altitude achieved worldwide for a vehicle designed and manufactured entirely by students. The rocket launched at 9:20am on March 20th, 2017 and was recovered later, 6.8 miles away from the launchpad.
The launch of Fathom II was not an easy task. Close to sixty students worked relentlessly for over three months to make the project a reality, and then tested their rocket in New Mexico's Spaceport, the same launch location used by commercial space company Virgin Galactic. This milestone represents years of knowledge students have inherited from previous Trojans since the founding of RPL in 2004.
USC Viterbi Dean, Yannis C. Yortsos, said the launch is legendary, especially in light of the progress that took place over the past few years. He couldn't hide his excitement as he watched the post-launch video.
"We were very excited about the event… We knew that the altitude was going to be significant because this rocket kept going and going and going and going, and so you knew that it was going way up there. This is a fascinating thing for us," said Yortsos.
Launch coordinator, Haley Karow, said working at RPL is exhausting and time demanding. However, she said the hard work paid off and being able to recover the rocket intact brought tears to her eyes and will probably point towards a promising future.
"This [accomplishment] is awesome for us… because we've been able to qualify the aerodynamics based on Fathom II, we will be launching the spaceshot vehicle hopefully in May of this year," said Karow.
Yortsos, who has served as Viterbi's dean since 2005, added that current students and alumni who participated in USC's RPL have been "sought after" by well-respected companies in the space industry, including Space X and Virgin Galactic. "It's an amazing thing," he said.
Members of the group said their next goal is to launch another rocket this May.
Annenberg Media