SpaceY Supersonic Rocket

SpaceY is a student-led team dedicated to designing and building high-performance experimental rockets. Our team, composed of passionate students from engineering, physics, and computer science backgrounds, focuses on pushing the boundaries of rocket technology while providing hands-on experience in aerospace engineering. The current project aims to design a two-stage rocket capable of supersonic flight and deploying a secondary payload, the CanSat microsatellite.

The rocket features a modular structure with a first stage housing the motor mount and drag chute bay, and a second stage containing the payload bay and main parachute bay. Its avionics are centered around a custom-designed PCB with an ATSAMD21 microcontroller, integrating sensors for pressure, temperature, orientation, GPS, and battery monitoring. This board autonomously controls igniters, parachute deployment, and continuous telemetry transmission to the ground station.

To ensure safety and reliability, the rocket uses independent power systems: one for igniters and one for the onboard computer. Recovery is achieved with a two-stage parachute system - a drag chute for initial deceleration and a main chute for safe landing. Both parachutes are made from orange 40D ripstop nylon with shock-absorbing lines and teflon core cords.

The secondary payload, CanSat, is an independent microsatellite equipped with its own sensors, GPS, microSD storage, LoRa communication, and an ATSAMD21 microcontroller. It is deployed autonomously just before apogee and descends safely under its own parachute, continuously sending telemetry to a dedicated ground station.

Ground support is handled by two stations: the igniter station near the rocket monitors battery levels and continuity of the igniters, while the main ground station, based on a Raspberry Pi, receives telemetry and live video feeds, displays sensor data in real time, and issues start or abort commands.

The SpaceY team would greatly benefit from PCBWay’s support in manufacturing our main PCB and the igniter station PCB. This support will allow us to accelerate prototyping, ensure high reliability, and provide our members with critical experience in electronics for aerospace applications. By partnering with PCBWay, we aim to inspire the next generation of space engineers and achieve our ambitious goals in student rocketry.

Rocket building video