Aerobrakes — Course Overview
A mentor-led research project into simulation and implementation of an aerobrake system that commands a rocket to achieve a target altitude by deploying during the coast phase of flight. The purpose of this project is to expose students to the rigors of serious research projects, in preparation to succeed in the college environment.
Overall Goals
Success will be tied to properly limiting scope. It is highly suggested that this project utilize a simple set of deployable aerobrakes that normally sit flush with the rocket body. These surfaces will open up to dynamically increase the rocket's Cd to achieve the target altitude. In-flight computation is limited, so the solution needs to be as simple as possible.
Schoolwork Comes First
Since the students are in High School, this project must take second importance to their primary schoolwork. Schoolwork comes first.
AI Use
AI can be used for consultation and mentoring. It WILL NOT be used to generate content (reports, analysis, etc.) or write code. Use at the peer level to improve your own content or code, or to work step by step through problems. You will not learn if you don't do it yourself first. Your mentor will ask many questions and you MUST always be able to completely explain all content or code. Benchmark: you should not have to rely on AI (or a mentor or teacher) more than about 20–25% to accomplish your tasks.
Mentor's Role
Your mentor has worked through this problem and has a good grasp on what is required. However, he only guides you. This has to be your project and you are in the driver's seat.
Work as a Team
You need to work as a team and share information and responsibilities. As a team, each one is expected to understand and explain all concepts, content, code, and structures.
Team Roles
The team assigns rotating lead roles: avionics/telemetry, controls/software, mechanical, and documentation. Leads rotate periodically so responsibility doesn't calcify into one person's job — this does not exempt anyone from the requirement to understand and explain all areas.
Engineering Notebook
You need to create a Google Site. This will be your “engineering notebook,” your mentor must be able to view this site to know your status. One of the requirements for your engineering notebook needs to be a lightweight AI-use log — demonstrate how you used it responsibly to accomplish your tasks.
Google Classroom
We will be using Google Classroom as the primary way to organize communication and assignments. It uses email to communicate what's going on and what needs to be done.
Coast-Phase-Only Authority
Airbrake authority will ONLY be used during the coast phase of flight.
Timeline Checkpoints
Each phase carries a target completion window (see Timeline below). Missed checkpoints are reviewed with the mentor, not silently absorbed.
| Phase | Target Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | Fall 2026 | 1 session |
| Phase 1 (Simulate) | Fall 2026 | Includes control theory prerequisite |
| Phase 2 (Document) | Fall 2026 | Final polishing — notebook has been maintained throughout |
| Phase 3 (Build/Test) | Spring 2027 | Hardest phase — flight computer, mechanism, C port, integration, live test |
| Phase 4 (Document) | Spring 2027 | Final polishing |
Onboarding
Every student can restate the project's purpose, rules, and Phase I goal in their own words — no notes.
Phase 1 — Simulate
Simulate and then create a real rocket that can bleed off extra apogee capability in a controlled manner to achieve a desired target altitude.
- Get familiar with RocketPy and complete a few of their tutorials.
- Understand the current OpenRocket simulation for the team's competition rocket — the benchmark all results are compared to.
- Learn to write “plugins” for RocketPy in preparation for writing the Aerobrake plugin.
- Build foundational control theory understanding (bang-bang, PID, responsive) before implementing and comparing algorithms.
- Write and validate the airbrake plugin using three algorithms: Bang-Bang, PID, Responsive. Know which works best and why — back assertions with data.
- Test with noisy data; build happy, unhappy, and edge test cases.
Phase 2 — Document Phase I
Document and write up Phase I learnings in a written report.
Phase 3 — Engineer, Build, Test
Engineer, build and test the airbrake system in a real rocket.
- Confirm certification level required for target altitude (NAR/TRA), any launch waiver needs, and FAA notification requirements — before build work proceeds toward flight testing.
- Develop and flight-test a flight computer to ensure proper identification of major flight events and telemetry.
- Develop aerobrake mechanisms and their control interface, using the algorithms validated in simulation, ported from Python to C.
- System integration — the flight computer feeds the brake controller, and the brake controller reacts.
- Flight testing.
Phase 4 — Document Phase III
Document findings and lessons learned where simulation and real world intersected — what worked, what didn't, advice for others attempting heavy simulation before a real-world attempt, and how industry could save time/money based on findings.