The Senku I is a rocket designed and built under the strict competition rules of the American Rocketry Challenge 2026 (ARC). It serves as a testbed for precision engineering, aerodynamics, and recovery systems. 

Purpose and Design

• Main Mission: To reach a precise apogee of 750 ft and maintain a total flight time between 36 and 38 seconds, while protecting a highly fragile payload.

• Payload: The upper section is specifically designed to carry a barometric altimeter and an egg, which must return to the ground without a single crack.

• Propulsion: Powered by a commercial solid-propellant motor of class F, selected through computer simulations to optimize the thrust curve and the rocket's weight.

• Recovery System: Utilizes an ejection charge separation system that deploys a 18" parachute, meticulously calibrated to control the descent rate and meet the competition's strict time window.

Watch the second flight of the Senku I, a custom-built rocket designed for the American Rocketry Challenge (ARC) and launched under the supervision of the Dallas Area Rocket Society (DARS) in Gunter, TX. After passing rigorous pre-flight safety inspections, the vehicle soared off the pad, executing a perfectly stable ascent. Exactly at the peak of its trajectory, the recovery system deployed flawlessly, bringing the rocket down in a controlled descent. Most importantly, the critical payload—a egg—was recovered completely intact upon touchdown, validating both the vehicle's aerodynamic stability and its shock-absorption systems in a highly successful mission.