UCI Rocket Project Solids: RPS-003 Light Fury
Abstract
The UCI Rocket Project Solids (RPS) undergraduate team presents their 2025-26 design and manufacturing process for their latest rocket: Light Fury. RPS operates on a one-year design cycle while implementing new design aspects to expand the depth of the team's engineering capabilities. This APCP-based solid propellant rocket features a 5U Cubesat payload with a deployable rover and UCI's first-ever active control airbrake system, alongside custom-manufactured carbon fiber and fiberglass airframes and fins. Light Fury is set to compete in the 2026 International Rocket Engineering Competition in Texas, where the rocket must reach an exact 10,000ft. apogee achieved by the airbrake system. This poster details their progress throughout the 2025-26 year, from initial design choices, testing procedures, static fires, and launches on their testbed rocket: Night Fury.
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