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Aftershock II


paceshot 2024 MISSION ARTICLES Following the successful launch and recovery of Aftershock II, the second of the USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory’s Aftershock-series solid-motor vehicles, data from the on-board avionics unit was collected and used to reconstruct its flight path. After an internal review of the raw data, advanced filtering methods and reconstruction simulations were used to determine and validate an apogee of 470,400 ft ± 27,300 ft (3σ), breaking the amateur altitude record of 380,000 ft, previously set by CSXT’s GoFast rocket.

Following the successful launch and recovery of Aftershock II, the second of the USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory’s Aftershock-series solid-motor vehicles, data from the on-board avionics unit was collected and used to reconstruct its flight path. Finally, in response to heavy erosion seen on Traveler IV’s trailblazing flight, Aftershock II employed an in-house developed silicone-based ablative thermal-protection system (TPS). It performed radio-based distance measurements between multiple points on the ground with the rocket as it ascended, allowing us to gather critical altitude information where systems like GPSs would lock out due to COCOM (read this for the original thesis paper: (https://engrxiv.org/preprint/view/1655/4292).

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A group of students broke the record for the highest altitude reached by an independently designed and built suborbital rocket, flying Aftershock II to 470,000 feet (143,256 meters) above Earth’s surface.