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HUNTSVILLE, AL — Students form the University of Alabama in Huntsville launched their home-built Aethon rocket more than 12,000 feet into sky this morning and recovered it from the Atlantic Ocean.

UAH was one of three universities in the nation, including Mitchell State and Mississippi State, chosen from among 15 universities to participate in the NASA pilot program.NASA challeneged the students to build a sounding rocket that would reach 10,000 feet with a scientific payload and be recovered at sea.

The rocket lifted the launch rail at 9:31 CST under the power of an 800-pound thrust solid rocket motor and 28 seconds later reached 12,321 feet. The rocket’s parachute deployed and the Aethon landed 1.4 miles downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.

Jack Vieria, NASA’s Flight Project Manager at Wallops, said the program gives students a hands-on opportunity to build things rather than just reading them from textbooks. “The UAH vehicle was quite unique and it had a lot of self-fabrication. You could see their pride in the workmanship.”

The UAH team of 14 students in mechanical and aerospace engineering used a new non-pyrotechnic ejection system. It deployed the parachute using pressurized carbon dioxide and a unique triggering system designed and tested by the students.

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