Amateur-built rocket breaks altitude records.
Students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University set a new altitude record for an amateur rocket, reaching a maximum altitude of 47,732 feet (14,548 meters), which is 1.6 times higher than Mount Everest. The rocket, named Deneb, broke the sound barrier and reached Mach 1.5 during a 26.1-second flight. The team, called the Cygnus Suborbitals, spent 4,000 hours constructing, testing, and launching the rocket. Several graduating students from the team have already been accepted for full-time jobs at companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Firefly Aerospace.