WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?
Welcome to PHY 220: the place where “Let’s build a rocket!” isn’t just a wild idea, it’s homework. Our mission? To get our hands
(and sometimes faces) covered in sweat, solder, plastic shavings, and paint as we turn crazy ideas into flying, blinking, beeping,
data-collecting machines. We don’t just talk science. Here, we design 3D parts, create custom circuit boards from scratch, code like
caffeinated wizards, and Frankenstein together weird stuff that actually works most of the time. Each of us gets to design payload
housings, assemble rockets, paint them ridiculous colors, give them equally ridiculous names (shoutout to P.R.B.—Pocket Rocket Baby),
and then cross our fingers as they soar sky-high.
And it’s not just about looking cool—our rockets are packed with sensors (like 9DOF, humidity, gyro, and GPS!) collecting a truckload
of data every launch. We stash all that scientific treasure onto a microSD card wired up to the microprocessor, and later we geek out
plotting the data and piecing together the rocket’s wild journey. Of course, along the way there are plenty of “learning experiences”
(like when Professor Vaca convinced Johnny to try downloading more RAM for his slow computer, Johnny’s still out there looking for that button).
Whether it’s rewiring a misbehaving circuit, fixing a sideways sensor, or laughing after a rocket lands in the bushes instead of the field, we’re
always learning, sharing the struggle, and celebrating the wins together. If you’ve ever wanted to say, “Yeah, I built that from scratch,” or you
just love the smell of solder in the morning, you’ve found your launchpad. Come experiment, invent, fail gloriously, collect killer data, and fly
with us—this is rocket science, student-style!
Our launch platform is none other than the legendary Big Daddy Rocket. While the outer shell is store-bought, everything inside is all us—sketched, soldered, thermal-stress-tested, and occasionally rebuilt after dramatic landings.
Custom Payload
Tucked inside Big Daddy is our student-designed payload, engineered to handle just about anything. It’s built to survive internal pressure explosions (for the classic ejection moment), tough falls if the parachute catches a bad day, and whatever else can be thrown at a rocketry experiment in the wild. If you’re picturing battle armor for circuit boards, you’re getting close.
Payload Electronics
Our secret weapon starts with a
Adafruit Feather M4 Express
Like the mission control of our payload, it processes all our incoming data, talks to the sensors, and keeps everything running (usually) smoothly.
Adafruit 9-DOF Accel/Mag/Gyro+Temp Sensor
The all-seeing eye of the rocket. This little chip tracks every loop, dip, and twirl, collecting data on acceleration, orientation, and temperature as Big Daddy makes its epic flight.
Adafruit MS8607 Pressure, Humidity, and Temperature Sensor
This sensor takes the atmospheric pulse of our flight, grabbing pressure and humidity readings as we leave the launchpad behind.
Adafruit PCA9546 4-Channel I2C Multiplexer
It juggles multiple I2C connections at once, letting every sensor have its moment in the limelight, and making wiring much less of a headache.
MicroSD Card Breakout Board+
The whole rocket could fall apart (not that it would… right?), but our data will be there, safe and sound on a tiny SD card for us to geek out over later.
And powering this whole adventure is a
Group 1
Devin Gomez
Devin collaborated with Ethan on the Arduino programming and was responsible for the payload design and custom PCB that powered the rocket’s onboard systems. He also built and coded the team website, where he hosted the livestream of the rocket launch.
Ethan Phung
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