CU Sounding Rocket Laboratory

Huge congratulations to our members joining the aerospace industry this summer! It’s an honor to help our students gain team-based, hands-on learning experiences that will help them make an impact in industry. We’re super proud of their accomplishments and the incredible amounts of work they have put in to get to this point! 🚀

Huge thanks to the team at LEAP for hosting our members in their open house! 🚀 It was a great opportunity to see their latest innovations firsthand and catch up with our alumni. We are also proud to have multiple SRL members currently interning at LEAP. It’s awesome to see the continued connection between our lab and the industry.

SRL has successfully static fired its 8” diameter One Grain Test Bed Motor, “Chug Jug!” This test marks a major milestone, validating critical motor hardware, GSE, and key manufacturing processes for the upcoming R-Class Spaceshot motor. While the overall nozzle architecture was proved, anomalies were observed in the diverging section related to ablative performance. As a result, updated materials will be implemented moving forward. We would like to also extend a huge thank you to our sponsors who have made this static fire possible. Next up, Spaceshot motor static fire!

Happy to announce that we are sponsored by Blue Origin for 2026!

Check out Mamba III’s launch summary and onboard footage. A huge thank you to all our sponsors and supporters who made this possible!

CU Boulder student-run CU Sounding Rocket Laboratory reached a new milestone this past October with its successful launch of the Mamba III rocket. Soaring to 90,000 feet in the Mojave Desert, Mamba hit Mach 3.36, equivalent to a velocity of 2,393 mph. Designed and constructed entirely by students, each launch iteration, leading up to and including Mamba III, advanced understanding of propulsion, materials and flight systems. The team now sets its sights on Spaceshot, a new rocket design aiming to reach 350,000 feet and cross into space. https://lnkd.in/gqNuTkqG University of Colorado Boulder #CUEngineering #SoundingRocketLab #AerospaceEngieering

Check out the article about Mamba III covered by the University of Colorado Boulder College of Engineering & Applied Science and Aerospace Department! A huge thank you to Dr. Jim Nabity for continuing to advise and support SRL as well as Dr. Hanspeter Schaub and Jeff Zehnder for their support post-launch and covering our story! 🚀 https://lnkd.in/gQkibWVm

At 9:15 am on Sunday, October 12, SRL successfully launched Mamba III to an altitude of 89,825 feet! The vehicle reached Mach 3.36 and was fully recovered. After 2 full-scale static fires and 2 flight attempts, this resounding success marks the final chapter of the Mamba campaign. Thank you so much to the amazing team whose expertise and persistence made this achievement possible! Your commitment through every challenge and milestone over the past three years has been instrumental to the success of the Mamba project. This accomplishment is a direct reflection of your hard work and dedication; Congratulations, Mamba team! Next up: Spaceshot! 🚀

⭐ Our crowdfunding campaign is now up! ⭐ All donations go directly towards SRL's club costs— your support can help us manufacture both solid and liquid rockets, custom flight computers and fund HPR certification rocket kits for members. Find our crowdfunding page here: https://lnkd.in/gUGw_qga