High-Power Rocketry
The DOFPro High-Power Rocketry Website
Hobby rocketry (flying rockets for fun, as opposed for commercial purposes) is traditionally divided unto two categories, Model Rocketry and High-Power Rocketry1. In the US, Model Rocketry concerns rockets with a mass of less than 1500 grams, and either a single motor with less than 160 Ns of impulse or a cluster of motors with less than 320 Ns of impulse. The most popular brand of model rocket kit has been Estes since the early days of the hobby.
High-Power Rocketry concerns rockets with a mass of greater than 1500 grams and/or a single motors with more than 160 Ns of impulse or a cluster of motors with more than 320 Ns of impulse. High-Power Rocketry is more thoroughly defined in the National Fire Protection Association document NFPA 1127 and by the Tripoli Rocketry Association, TRA, and the National Association of Rocketry, NAR. This website contains information, practices, and guidelines on High-Power rocketry gained through 20 years of teaching the principles of Experimental Engineering to college sophomores through seniors by building, modeling, flying, and analyzing data from high-power rockets.
Website Organization
The information is organized into
Recommendations by Experience Level
We have recommendations for people at all levels of experience for getting the most from our website and videos. Whether you are a neophyte (newbie), or have been flying rockets for years, hopefully you will be able to find something new and interesting.
New to Rocketry
If you are new to the hobby of rocketry. We strongly recommend you find a local club or prefecture, go to a launch, see if it’s something you would like to do, and if so, join the club or prefecture. You may not have anyone approach you to ask if you’re new here, but if you’re brave enough to ask, most rocketeers are more than willing to answer questions and get you started. There are two rocketry organizations in the US: the National Association of Rocketry, NAR, who focus on model rocketry, but also allow High-Power rockets; and the Tripoli Rocketry Association, TRA, who focus on High-Power and experimental rocketry, but also allow model rockets. The NAR Club Finder is here. The TRA Prefecture Finder is here.
We strongly recommend you build and fly a few model rockets before you think about High-Power. Model rockets have much lower costs to build and fly and mistakes are much less serious. Almost all of the building and flying lessons you learn from model rocketry will transfer to high-power rocketry.
Unless you really enjoy government red tape, we strongly recommend you fly with a local club or prefecture, and don’t try to fly on your own. Model-rocket restrictions vary from state to state, but in California you must have written permission from the local fire department and from the landowner where you plan to launch. You also need to follow the Safety Code regarding distance from people and structures. It’s much easier to let someone else worry about the headaches, and you just go and fly.
New to High-Power Rocketry
If you are experienced in model rocketry and want to get started in high-power rocketry, we recommend you start by reading the Certification Page. It describes the certification process for Level 1 and Level 2 and has links to the relevant pages. You should also read the Basic Safety Information. We also have construction guides for rockets suitable for Level 1 and Level 2. They are for:
- The Madcow MiniDX3 (Level 1 but not Level 2)
- The LOC Precision Weasel if you can find one. They are officially OOP4. (Level 1 but not Level 2)
- The standard LOC Precision Vulcanite (Level 1 and Level 2 maybe)
- A LOC Precision Vulcanite with modifications for Dual Deploy (Level 1 and Level 2)
What we said above about government red tape goes double for high power. Just fly with a club or prefecture. For our yearly class launches in April, we started in June to get a Letter of Understanding from the Bureau of Land Management and a flight waiver from the FAA. We also needed a California Pyrotechnician 3rd Class at the launch, and at least a Level-2 certified flyer to serve as Range Safety Officer. For the final launch clearance we needed to call Edwards AFB5, Miramar NAS6, the LAX7 tower, the High Desert Tower, and issue a NOTAM8. When we first started we needed a LEUP9 from the ATF10. Again, just fly with a club or prefecture.
If you are interested in modeling and instrumentation as well, read on.
New to Modeling and Instrumentation
Experienced but Curious
The original course websites are not open source or licensed under Creative Commons. The links to the previous courses are High-Power Rocketry and Experimental Engineering.
Footnotes
According to the rules of standard English, it should be high-power rocketry with a hyphen, but common practice often does not include the hyphen. The rocket will still fly, with or without the hyphen.↩︎
The rocket is a Quest Seeker modified to accommodate a PerfectFlite Pnut altimeter.↩︎
The rocket is a LOC Precision (PML) Phobos modified to accommodate a student-built avionics package. It’s currently loaded with a G motor, which isn’t High-Power, but it later flew on an I motor, which definitely is High-Power.↩︎
Out Of Production – The manufacturer has quit making them, but you may still find some for sale at rocket vendors or perhaps on Ebay.↩︎
Air Force Base↩︎
Naval Air Station↩︎
Los Angeles International Airport↩︎
Low Explosive User Permit – It’s no longer required after 2009, unless they want to hassle you about your black powder for ejection charges.↩︎