Avionics and Recovery Lead of a student club - ESRA - Fall 22/Spring 23

me with my teammate preparing the rocket for launch at FAR in California

As I was launching my second rocket, I overheard friends needing a replacement for their avionics and recovery leads which were graduating. I got approached by the team lead and got "hired" as their replacement.

I begun following them in October 2022 and learned a lot before taking their place in January 2023.

My role as the avionics lead was to ensure that the avionics system will run smoothly during tests and launch; recordign data, separating when needed, sending GPS data. While my role as the recovery lead was to ensure the safe return of the rocket, that includes parachute folding, line preparation, pop tests with black powder....

Here are the tasks that I participated in :

Lay up of the rocket; this procedure consists of putting a fiberglass fabric on a mold, and applying epoxy with paint brushes to ensure that there is no inconsistences.
Teaching the team how to mount a solid rocket engine
Writing protocols
Surface finish of the home manufactured aluminium engine hold; which had to be precise to fit perfectly in the body
Surface finishing of the rocket
Avionics bay mounting
Soldering of the boards
Test of the avionics system using different softwares
Dry runs
Parachute folding
Pop tests
Safety Meeting
GO/NO GO meetings

and much more.

I learned a lot through this experience, socially, professionally and techincally. Participating in briefings/ debriefings helped me a lot to reflect on my action as a team member but also as a lead.

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Myself preparing for a pop test