Who are we?

The Society of Aeronautics and Rocketry (SOAR) at the University of South Florida (Tampa, United States) is a student-led, non-profit organization established in 2013 by a group of passionate and driven undergraduate engineering students. With a membership exceeding 220 members, SOAR takes on projects that advance students’ technical skills, organizational knowledge, and professional development.

One of our organization’s main operations includes the design and manufacturing of high-powered rockets annually to carry out missions and experiments to compete in the NASA University Student Launch Initiative (USLI, also known as NSL). Last year, we made significant progress, improving our rank by 30 positions. After finishing 50th in the 2022-2023 competition, we rose to 20th place in the following year. This year, we aim even higher, striving to place within the top 10 universities.

The NASA Student Launch Initiative challenges university students across the nation to design, analyze, and build a high-powered rocket capable of carrying an innovative payload to an exact, team-selected altitude. The competition requires nearly 1,000 pages of reports and documentation, and three team presentations to NASA before launch week. In years prior, SOAR has developed and delivered payloads such as visual odometry algorithms, radio frequency command modules, rover deployment systems, and more.

Bellow are some of the projects we developed during our 2024-2025 school year with our very talented group of team members.

Avionics Project

For the 2023-2024 NASA Student Launch Avionics challenge, our team faced the critical task of designing a reliable and efficient avionics system for our rocket. Given the complexity and limited space available, we initially relied on protoboards to develop and integrate key components such as altimeters, GPS modules, IMUs, ESP32 microcontrollers, and various pressure and temperature sensors. These protoboards also supported the integration of LoRa modules for real-time data transmission to our ground station and a buzzer for audio notifications.

Due to funding restrictions, we have been using protoboards as substitutes for PCBs. However, these protoboards take up significantly more space, are more prone to failure, and have a higher likelihood of cable disconnections. The following picture illustrates some of the protoboards we created under these constraints.

In contrast, the image below shows a fully reusable PCB we designed for every rocket we build. This PCB serves as a GPS tracker, incorporating an ESP32S3 to process data and a LoRa module to transmit the location of the rocket to the ground station. A easy plug and play solution to track where any of our rockets will land.

Payload Project

For the 2023-2024 NASA Student Launch Payload challenge, our team developed a sophisticated payload deployment system capable of ejecting a drone at 400 feet above ground level. This system is a testament to our technical prowess, relying on coded state machines and a suite of sensors that communicate to determine the optimal ejection altitude and safety conditions. The data is then transmitted in real-time to our ground station, where our team can monitor the mission and make critical decisions, including mission aborts if necessary.

For the drone's autonomous landing sequence, we utilized protoboards due to time and budget constraints. The system incorporated a Teensy board, BNO055 sensor, BMP390 sensor, I2S microphone, and LoRa module to manage the landing sequence and report the STEMNaut data statistics required by NASA. While these protoboards allowed us to achieve our goals, they highlighted the need for more robust, space-efficient custom PCBs to enhance reliability and performance.

On the other hand, with more time to develop the deployment system, we were able to design and fabricate custom PCBs for this critical part of the mission. These boards, which included an ESP32S3 for data processing, a LoRa module for communication, BMP390 sensors for pressure readings, an LM2596 for voltage regulation, and a TMC5160 stepper motor driver for controlling the extension and retraction mechanism, significantly improved the system's reliability and efficiency. It's important to note that these custom PCBs were funded out of pocket by our team members due to budget constraints. This not only demonstrates our commitment but also our capability in designing and implementing aerospace-grade electronics, even under financial limitations.

Liquid Propulsion Project

For the past years, SOAR has also been involved in Liquid Propulsion Research. Currently we have managed to design an Injector plate as a first step in our eventual goal to build a full liquid propulsion engine rocket:

Therefore for these next stages, the team is ready to start designing the system and electronics to control the liquid engine, which require sophisticated PCB designs to handle the complex electronics and data processing involved, in such a delicate operation.

What's Next

As we prepare for the upcoming NASA Student Launch competition, our team is excited to tackle new challenges, including the development of a landing capsule that reports data using the 2M Ham Radio band. With our experience in RF communications and the importance of structural and shielded PCB designs, we're confident that custom PCBs will play a critical role in the success of this project. No longer relying on protoboards will allow us to ensure more robust and reliable data transmission during flight.

In addition, we're advancing our secondary payload experiment focused on developing airbrakes for our rocket. With the mechanical system and kinematic calculations already in place, the next step involves designing the electronics that will bring this innovation to life. We're also optimizing our avionics bay to achieve near real-time data reporting, which is essential for monitoring and controlling our rocket's performance.

Sponsoring SOAR would not only support these high-impact projects but also provide PCBWay with valuable exposure to our 220 members, alumni network, and the broader university community. With frequent events and presentations, PCBWay will become synonymous with quality and innovation in engineering projects at the University of South Florida, ensuring that your brand is the first that comes to mind when students and faculty think of PCB solutions. Your support will enable us to achieve new heights in aerospace innovation, and we would be honored to have PCBWay as our partner in these endeavors.