Uploaded November 2009 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This video shows the launch of a 9 foot tall ~20lb rocket. The rocket used a commercial nitrous oxide and plastic fuel grain engine. It made it up to an altitude of ~5000 ft with an estimated ascent speed of 500 MPH, unfortunately the rocket's parachute failed to deploy, leading to a speedy return to the ground from whence it came. At a free fall speed of nearly 250 MPH, the 9 foot rocket slammed into the ground and experienced 1800 g's while digging a 16" crater into the hard Texas ground. During the free fall, the rocket quickly reached its terminal velocity of 250 MPH (the rocket had a drag coefficient of 0.7, and weighed ~20 lbs).
The rocket was designed and built by the high school students of Booker T. Washington and flown in the SystemsGo program. Learn how your high school can design/build/fly a rocket today at igniteeducation.org
This video shows the launch of a 9 foot tall ~20lb rocket. The rocket used a commercial nitrous oxide and plastic fuel grain engine. It made it up to an altitude of ~5000 ft with an estimated ascent speed of 500 MPH, unfortunately the rocket's parachute failed to deploy, leading to a speedy return to the ground from whence it came. At a free fall speed of nearly 250 MPH, the 9 foot rocket slammed into the ground and experienced 1800 g's while digging a 16" crater into the hard Texas ground. During the free fall, the rocket quickly reached its terminal velocity of 250 MPH (the rocket had a drag coefficient of 0.7, and weighed ~20 lbs).
The rocket was designed and built by the high school students of Booker T. Washington and flown in the SystemsGo program. Learn how your high school can design/build/fly a rocket today at igniteeducation.org
