Rockets | Cornell Rocketry Team

Our Rockets

VALKYRIE

2026

HEIGHT

216"

DIAMETER

6.2"

LAUNCH MASS

134 lb

MOTOR DIAMETER

5.5"

MOTOR

SRAD Hybrid

AIRFRAME FILAMENT

G12 Fiberglass

Valkyrie was CRT’s second student research and developed (SRAD) hybrid rocket and our competition rocket for the 2026 IREC. On the launch vehicle, we flew our SRAD parachute guidance system, BLiMS, for the second time successfully as well as SRAD airbrakes for the first time. The payload was a deployable 360º camera on an arm to take a video of Valkyrie's apogee and descent. At competition, Valkyrie placed third in the 10,000ft SRAD hybrid category.

Andromeda was CRT’s competition rocket for the 2025 Spaceport America Cup. This was our first ever student research and designed (SRAD) hybrid rocket. From the avionics bay to the guided descent system to the fluid system, every component was SRAD. Three years of research and development culminated in a rocket that reached 12,100 ft on test flight, powered by 1,385 lbf of thrust from its hybrid motor. With Andromeda, Cornell Rocketry proudly took home 3rd place in the 10K Hybrid SRAD category!

Ursa Major was CRT's competition rocket for the 2023 Spaceport America Cup. Our first ever rocket with a student researched and developed (SRAD) motor, Ursa Major successfully launched and achieved a 10,115 ft apogee out of the predicted 10,201 ft, earning an excellent flight score on the first day of launches. Both parachutes were also successfully deployed at the correct altitudes, and the rocket was recovered with no damage! Cornell Rocketry took home first place in the 10K Solid SRAD category, and was awarded second place overall out of all competing teams!

Big Red 1 was CRT's competition rocket for the 2022 Spaceport America Cup. After multiple 3am starts and rain delays, Cornell Rocketry was the 5th team out of 100 teams to launch their rocket. Big Red 1 lifted off the pad on the 3rd ignition attempt and soared to 10367 feet. On the way down, the main parachute deployed prematurely due to hard accelerations caused by a delayed drogue parachute deployment. Even with this failure, the rocket was still smoothly recovered without damage. Cornell Rocketry placed 5th in 10K COTS and 10th overall.

Ezra was CRT's competition rocket for the 2017 NASA Student Launch. It has a total length of 109 inches and a diameter of 5.15 inches. It utilizes an AeroTech L1300R-P motor and achieves a liftoff thrust of 297 lbs. Ezra houses a Controlled Landing Mechanism (CLM), which lands upright after launch, a Roll Control System (RCS) to manage the roll of the rocket, and a Target Detectiong System (TDS) to capture targets on the ground during flight. With Ezra, we placed 3rd in competition and took home the Safety as well as Documentation award.

Space Jam competed in the NASA Student Launch Competition for 2015-2016. It has a total length of 74.5 inches, diameter of 3.98 inches, and features full fiberglass airframe and fins. It utilizes a Cesaroni K740 motor and achieves a liftoff thrust of 191.1 lbs and a rail exit velocity of 70.1 ft/s. On board, it houses the Payload Enclosure Mechanism (PEM) for securing the payload through flight, and holds an avionics bay packed with a multitude of tracking electronics and radios for sending telemetry back to the ground station. On Space Jam's most recent flight, it reached an altitude of 5,277 feet, just 3 feet shy of the target apogee of 1 mile!

3rd place 10k SRAD Hybrid

VALKYRIE

2015

2026

2025

Subsystems

BLIMS

BliMS (Brake Line Manupulation System) is used to control the descent of the rocket by manipulating the brake lines of the ram air parafoil parachute, similar to how a skydiver controls their descent. BliMS is fully autonomous, using a PID controller to guide the rocket on a certain heading or to a GPS coordinate. This is the team's second time flying BliMS on a competition rocket, after flying it on Andromeda in 2025, several flights on a L3 test bed, and dropping it out of a plane.

PAYLOAD

Valkyrie's payload was a deployable 360º camera. It used an insta360 camera on a sero-actuated arm which deployed the camera at apogee through a slot in the airframe, acting as a selfie stick for the rocket. The camera was also positioned slightly outside of the rocket for flight to capture ascent before deployment.

AV BAY

The AV bay holds all the electronics to control the rocket, including the central fight computer, senseboard, and backplane. It commands the launch sequence of the motor, deployment of the chute, activation of other systems as well as logging flight data. All of the PCBs in the AV bay are SRAD, with a 3d printed board housing and machined bulkheads which interface with the wiring harness.

AIRBRAKES

Airbrakes is a new system on Valkyrie. It consists of four metal plates that extend out of slots in the airframe to increase drag and lower the apogee of the rockt. The airbrakes deploy symmetrically, controlled by a single servo to ensure stability of the rocket. The airbrakes use live state estimation from flight data to determine when to deploy.

PROPULSION

Valkyrie flew on a SRAD hybrid motor, delivering 1,385lbf of thrust and 20,000 Ns of impulse. It burns a mixture of liquid nitrous oxide and solid HTPB (hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene) fuel. The motor was designed and built in-house by Cornell Rocketry, and is the second hybrid motor to be flown by the team.