USC Students Break 20-Year Amateur Rocket Altitude Record
A team of students from USC's Rocket Propulsion Lab set a new amateur spaceflight altitude record with their rocket, Aftershock II, reaching 470,000 feet and achieving hypersonic speeds of Mach 5.5. This achievement surpasses the previous record held by the 2004 GoFast rocket by 90,000 feet. The students overcame challenges like thermal protection using innovative solutions, demonstrating that significant advancements in space exploration can be achieved without massive budgets.
