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Hercules is a collaboration between Ben Fisher and I, and Tufts Rocketry's first cluster dual deploy! It's maiden launch was in May of 2026 at Pine Island, NY.
A screenshot from Hercules' full assembly in OnShape
Rocket Stats
Rocket Stats
Motor: Aerotech I-205 (x3)
Max Thrust: 759 N
Total Impulse: 1,035 Ns
Apogee: 1114 m (simulated)
Stability: 2.18 cal
Height: 203 cm
Dry Mass: 2845 g
Wet Mass: 3790 g
Max Velocity: 233 m/s (simulated)
Max Acceleration: 289 m/s^2 (simulated)
Hercules' OpenRocket Flight Profile
Unpainted airframe in makerspace
We created an AV Bay with the switches mounted to the sled instead of onto the airframe exterior to make it easier to remove.
For electronics we have an RRC3 and an SRAD board, custom-built by our avionics team. The goal was to perform the first live test of electronics on SRAD boards with this flight.
The nosecone was printed in 3D separate pieces that thread together with threads I put into the CAD. We then painted it to look similar to the Redstone rocket from the early days of NASA. The nosecone had to be printed several times because we discovered that it does not take well to being dropped or knocked over.
Launch Day
Launch Day
The rocket structure was completed the night before the launch day and we ran out of time to perform our ejection testing with the amounts of black powder we had calculated.
Therefore we took the only logical course of action and performed them next to the launch pads the next morning.
Hercules was launched and all three motors were ignited! Unfortunately, we do not believe the SRAD board worked as intended, but luckily the RRC3 was a reliable back up. The rocket was recovered with relatively no damage; the nosecone was sheared off on impact with the ground. It was Tufts Rocketry's 120th launch.
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