SpaceShot 2018-19

The original Princeton SpaceShot team, sponsored by the Princeton Rocketry Club as an ODUS student organization, was Princeton Rocketry Club’s advanced development team. The organization attempted twice to design, build, and launch one of the first student-built rockets to reach outer space. The launches took place at Spaceport America, an FAA-licensed commercial spaceport located in New Mexico. This team has since been revived with a projected launch in 2025.

ACHIEVEMENTS:
• Successfully obtained federal approval for space launch from FAA/AST;
• Obtained approval from Princeton ODUS, Risk Management, and General Counsel;
• Successfully negotiated a launch agreement with Spaceport America;
• Conducted a launch of two identical sounding rockets capable of reaching outer space on 05/27/2018, 05/30/2019 and 05/31/2019; • Launch #1 suffered a stage 2 ignition failure;
• Launch #2 had a successful launch until impacted by dynamic instability, and achieved an altitude of over 84 kilometers;
• Launch #3 had an avionics failure preventing stage 2 ignition;
• We had an official partnership with the West Point SPEAR team for launch support, igniter development, and static test firing;
• We borrowed a 40 ft launch rail, adjustable in azimuth and elevation, from a corporate executive at Virgin Orbit.

PARTICIPANTS:
Coleman Merchant, Saad Mirza, Satya Nayagam, Miles Simpskin, Miguel Opeña, Rodrigo Fernandez, Nicole Meister, Dayan Mitchell, Dhyan Patell, Connor Larson, Logan O' Donnell, Nathan Spilker, Andrew Xu, Markus Leschly

Meet the Team

Coleman Merchant '19

CHIEF ENGINEER
Coleman pushes the limits of efficiency with every project.
Coleman has worked at Tesla and SpaceX, gaining experience in advanced composites, machining, and mechanical/aerospace engineering.
Coleman is also the chief engineer for the Princeton Racing Electric (PRE) team.
Saad Mirza '21

TEAM LEAD
Saad has basically been a space enthusiast since birth.
Saad managed the 2017-2018 SpaceShot project team, successfully gaining University approvals, and obtaining Federal authorization for space launch from the FAA/AST.
Saad is also the President of the Princeton Rocketry Club, and is an officer of the Princeton Aviation Association.
Satya Nayagam '22

AVIONICS TEAM CO-LEAD
Satya is studying Chemical and Biological Engineering with a Certificate in Materials Science. Passionate about spaceflight and rocketry, Satya has been involved in numerous space-related activities.
Satya worked for two summers at NASA, developing image analysis routines for ISS experiments and helping to design a microgravity drop rig and plasma generator. Satya has also designed and built payloads for flight on Blue Origin and Northrup Grumman launch vehicles.
As part of SpaceShot, Satya helped design the Avionics Bay, as well as assembling and testing the electronic and structural components.
Miles Simpkins '22

AVIONICS TEAM CO-LEAD
Miles is studying Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and has had a passion for flight since day one.
At his high school in Texas, he was president of an aerospace club that conducted high altitude balloon launches including a world record attempt.
For SpaceShot, Miles designed the Avionics Bay and helped machine various structural parts.
Aside from engineering, Miles enjoys movies, playing golf, watching the NFL, and history. He also has a Private Pilot License and enjoys flying with friends.
Miguel Opeña ‘22

Miguel has diverse interests, including deep philosophical books, calligraphy and music.
However, math is his number-one interest, and he is using it to model rocket trajectories for our SpaceShot team.
Aside from trying to launch a rocket into space, Miguel also performs research for Princeton’s Intelligent Robot Motion Lab, where he is applying math and algorithms to autonomous robotic controls.
Rodrigo Fernandez ‘22

Rodrigo is studying MAE with a certificate in Applied and Computational Mathematics. In SpaceShot he has mainly been involved with the material selection and structural design of the Av-Bay for the rocket.
In Mexico, he was the chief engineer for ITESM Saltillo University's robotics team--Blue Ignition Robotics. In 2018, he led his team to earning a first-place in First Robotics Competition's Mexico regional--giving the team a direct pass to the world championship held in Houston that same year.

Technical Documentation

Spaceshot 2019 Thesis

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Coleman Merchant ‘19, lead engineer, designer, and builder of the 2019 Princeton SpaceShot vehicle, completed this work as part of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) degree at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences of Princeton University.

FAA 7711-2 2019

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The following document, a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization Application, must be submitted at least 45 days before the planned activity to a local FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). Sensitive data is redacted. Please consult all relevant regulations and statutes, including but not limited to 14 CFR 101 and 14 CFR 400, before attempting to submit an application.

FAA Flight Data Package 2019

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The following document was submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) as part of our 7711-2 Part 101 waiver application, pursuant to 14 CFR Part 101. It includes overall vehicle characteristics, trajectories, and impact dispersions.

The following document was a thesis paper prepared by chief engineer Coleman Merhant '19 for a final paper for independent coursework in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The focus of the paper is the Project Stratos project, the predecessor of the SpaceShot vehicle. The design of Project Stratos is similar to the second stage sustainer of SpaceShot. This vehicle reached 39,000 feet and Mach 3 on only 4,500 Ns of impulse.

2018 Mid-year Progress Review PowerPoint

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The following document was a mid-year progress review of the 2018 SpaceShot vehicle presented to Princeton University's Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students. Technical detail is neglected as this is a general overview of logistics and design.