During the Academic Year 2024-2025, I led the Payload Division for my school's High Power Rocketry Club. This division had about 40 active members and was dedicated to the construction of a payload mission I designed. The mission was to plant a seed in the Great Chihuahuan Desert (where we were launching); the idea was that in the following year we would take the systems we designed and put them onto a rover. I chose this mission for multiple reasons: it was a new challenge, it was achievable, and it could serve as a steppingstone for future missions. I am proud to say that I was right, as in the Academic Year 2025-2026 the Payload Division is developing the rover!
More than just designing the mission, I managed all aspects of the robotic payload. This involved more than just extensive documentation and communication; but also, mechanical work on the structural and actuating systems, and electrical work on the boards bring power and data to and from the various actuators and sensors. Naturally, rockets require lots of precision in manufacturing, so much of my time was spent designing and reviewing the mating of the payload to other systems as well as performing calculations to ensure nothing would be damaged.
During the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), our payload's breakout board experienced a severe short, nearly causing an electrical fire. Using the schematics, I traced the issue to the power lines driving our largest servos. I then consulted the team members who designed the board and cross-referenced the servo's power requirements. I realized that the board was mistakenly designed for a lower power draw than what we had selected, revealing a lack of auditing during the design phase. This experience highlighted the importance of cross-team collaboration and regular design reviews between mechanical and electrical teams.
I learned more about leadership this year than I possibly could have anywhere else in the school, and I am incredibly grateful that I was elected to this position. I hope to take all the lessons I learned, from the things I did well and the things I did poorly and bring it to a project that sends a robot to space!