Spring 2025 marked the first semester of AERE and its High Powered Rocketry (HPR) team. During this semester, HPR partnered with the Keweenaw Rocket Range rocketry club to compete in the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC).
The two groups divided their responsibilities, with HPR focusing on payload development while Keweenaw Rocket Range designed and built the launch vehicle.
The team’s objective was to reach an altitude as close to 10,000 feet as possible while carrying a payload weighing at least 2 kilograms.
The team’s payload was a compressed-gas roll-control system designed to fly aboard Keweenaw Rocket Range’s launch vehicle, Questionable Lineage. Although the payload successfully flew during the competition, it did not perform to its intended specifications due to battery and power-related issues. The flight nevertheless provided the team with valuable experience in payload integration and competition operations.
Despite these challenges, the team finished 48th out of 146 teams that launched, placing in the top third of the field during its first competition.
The experience provided a valuable foundation for AERE’s future high-powered rocketry projects, particularly in payload development, testing, and competition preparation.
