Project Daedalus

Project Daedalus is SSI's experimental rocketry program, focused on developing exciting yet approachable technologies for Class 2 rockets. Currently, the project is composed of four teams, each of which are designing, building, and testing novel concepts. Each team will present at a Preliminary and a Critical Design Review, as well as test prototypes on rockets of increasing size and complexity. The four teams, and their projects, are as follows:

Pegasus

The purpose of the Pegasus rocket is to demonstrate the feasibility of using a parafoil recovery system to create a controlled, directed recovery for a high-powered rocket from over 10,000 ft.

Prometheus

Prometheus will use controllable canards to control the roll of the rocket on descent, allowing for both stabilized video footage and for extension into more demanding controls applications.

Talos

Talos will be a testbed for a new electronics suite, giving improved data acquisition, reliability, and communications to ground. The newly designed and tested electronics will then become standard on all other large rockets.

Charybdis

Charybdis will use canted fins to spin stabilize the rocket on ascent, and then employ a yo-yo de-spin to halt the rotation and allow the parachutes to deploy.