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Torch Bearer 2-Stage
Designing and building an advanced 2-stage rocket.
Benjamin Atkins
Project Lead
Overview
Torchbearer is a 2-stage high power rocket with a target apogee of 100,000ft. Flying on a solid fueled upper stage and hybrid fueled booster, it is SSTA's first attempt at developing a multistage launch vehicle.
In the 2025-2026 school year, development and testing of Torchbearer's upper stage was completed. The team is targeting Fall 2026 for an all-up test flight of the upper stage, followed by the inaugural full-stack flight to 100,000ft in Spring 2027.
Upper-Stage Key Systems
- 3 inch carbon fiber airframe
- Epoxy airframe alignment keys
- Hand laid carbon fiber fins with aluminum leading edges
- Minimum diamter solid rocket motor
- Wifi-controlled arming system
- Data-logging instrument package as payload
- Single bay dual deploy recover
Booster Key Systems
- In-house designed interstage coupler
- Hybrid motor
- Single bay dual deploy recovery
- 10:1 thrust to weight ratio
- Hand laid carbon fiber fins with aluminum leading edges
