In a year impacted heavily by COVID-19 restrictions that were put in place by the University, Duke AERO took a great leap forward with the development, construction, and successful launch of a two-stage rocket affectionately dubbed “Thing 1 and Thing 2”.
Designing a two-stage vehicle meant solving a new class of problems: stage separation, sustainer ignition timing, and keeping both stages stable through the handoff. Pulling off a successful flight under campus restrictions that limited in-person work made the launch one of the team’s proudest moments of the era.