Pitt Rocketry Team

Pitt Rocketry Team University of Pittsburgh's Rocketry Team, set to to compete at NASA Student Launch in Huntsville, Alabama.

05/30/2026

Months of engineering, teamwork, and determination all lead to one launch. 🚀

Follow Pitt SOAR’s journey to Texas and the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) 2026.

05/19/2026

After a 9-month design cycle, SOAR is proud to announce the successful hotfire of Initium, our first liquid rocket engine ever fired at the University of Pittsburgh! 🔥🚀

Fueled by IPA and N2O, Initium passed coldflow and pressure testing before achieving stable ignition and sustained combustion in its first hotfire. A late-stage combustion instability was observed and is currently under investigation, but the milestone stands.

None of this would have happened without the ~15 people who poured everything into this project, or the support of Pitt’s CHE, MEMS, and ECE departments, SSOE, and the Dean’s Office for providing lab space and funding. Special shoutout to Dr. Barry for his mentorship and guidance throughout. #

Lead Engineers: .borysiak .carr729

Engineers: .rr .412 .belculfine .ps.21 , Aidan Kleinhenz, Joe Layton, Samantha Ross

Video made by 🎥

Over the past weekend, we successfully static fired our SRAD 98mm 5-grain solid motor, powered by our custom Blue 104 fo...
04/16/2026

Over the past weekend, we successfully static fired our SRAD 98mm 5-grain solid motor, powered by our custom Blue 104 formula 🔥

The resulting data classified the motor as an N-2650 with a 4.1s burn 📈

Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to making this test happen. A meaningful milestone, with more to come 🚀

Over the past weekend, we successfully static fired our SRAD 98mm 5-grain solid motor, powered by our custom Blue 104 fo...
04/16/2026

Over the past weekend, we successfully static fired our SRAD 98mm 5-grain solid motor, powered by our custom Blue 104 formula🔥

The resulting data classified the motor as an N-2650 with a 4.1s burn.

Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to making this test happen. A meaningful milestone, with more to come. 🚀

Over the past weekend, we completed our first sub-scale test launch! 🚀 Using a COTS motor, our rocket reached an apogee ...
04/16/2026

Over the past weekend, we completed our first sub-scale test launch! 🚀

Using a COTS motor, our rocket reached an apogee of approximately 3,500 feet, with a max speed of around Mach 0.5. The flight validates our airframe, avionics, and deployment systems. Everything performed nominally and the data gives us strong confidence as we prepare for the IREC 10k SRAD category.

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way, including team members, our mentor, and our sponsors who helped make this launch possible. Excited for what’s ahead as we push toward IREC! 🔥

Successful liquid engine cold flow test completed the past weekend!Strong performance across the system and valuable dat...
04/08/2026

Successful liquid engine cold flow test completed the past weekend!

Strong performance across the system and valuable data collected. Huge thanks to the team for making it happen.

Hot fire is next!🔥🚀

Successful full-scale static fire of our 5-grain 98mm Moonshine motor on March 29 🚀We captured valuable thrust and press...
04/05/2026

Successful full-scale static fire of our 5-grain 98mm Moonshine motor on March 29 🚀

We captured valuable thrust and pressure data from this test, giving us critical insight into performance at scale. While the motor reached an N-class profile (~4600 N peak, ~9700 N·s impulse), the results also revealed unpredictable and erratic behavior in the upscaled Moonshine formulation.

Because of this, we’re making the call to switch to Blue 104 moving forward to prioritize consistency and reliability as we continue testing.

We’ve already completed two full-scale Blue 104 motor assemblies and are gearing up for our next static fire this weekend (April 11–12).

Stay tuned!

Happy International Women’s Day! 🚀Celebrating the women of Pitt SOAR who help us reach new heights. 💙💛
03/09/2026

Happy International Women’s Day! 🚀
Celebrating the women of Pitt SOAR who help us reach new heights. 💙💛

🎤 SOAR Career Development Panel 🎤Looking for internship advice? Hear directly from SOAR alumni and leads about how they ...
02/23/2026

🎤 SOAR Career Development Panel 🎤

Looking for internship advice? Hear directly from SOAR alumni and leads about how they landed their roles and what you should be doing now. Bring your resume and come ready with questions!

📍 Benedum G31
🗓 Thu, Feb 26 @ 7 PM

If you’re serious about securing an internship, this is the event you want to attend. See you there!

Looking to get more involved in SOAR this semester? Subteam meetings are the best place to learn, contribute, and work d...
02/16/2026

Looking to get more involved in SOAR this semester? Subteam meetings are the best place to learn, contribute, and work directly on the systems and components that make our rocket fly. Everyone is welcome, whether you’re new or experienced.

⚡ Avionics — Monday, 7:00 PM
🔥 Propulsion — Monday, 8:00 PM
🛠 Mechanical — Thursday, 6:45 PM
🛰 Payload — Thursday (sometimes Tuesday), 7:00 PM

*Schedule changes/updates are announced via Slack*

Stop by, ask questions, and get involved! Progress happens at subteam meetings.

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Midland, TX
79701-12

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