Student Aeronautical Engineering Team
Project Flux is a student engineering team running six projects: two rockets, a myoelectric robotic arm, an active-flow-control splitter, a telemetry-and-simulation platform, and the wind tunnel that validates them all. We design, build, fly, and analyze — end to end.
Mission
We treat every project as a real engineering campaign: literature, hand-derivation, simulation, bench prototype, flight/field test, and published results. STRATOS is a controlled factorial rocket experiment; CHRONOS is its competition sibling; SYNAPSE is a biosignal-driven arm; PHASAR is active-flow-control research; CALIBER is the software that turns flight data into calibrated models; and FLOWTECH is the wind tunnel that grounds the aerodynamics in measurement.
Projects
A 2×2 factorial study of Lyapunov-stable MRAC roll control — servo-canards vs. composite bend-twist fins across four Aerobee Hi rockets.
View project → Phase 1 · hand build PROJECT // 02A 22-DoF myoelectric, tri-inertial wearable interface driving dual tendon-driven robotic hands — sEMG + IMU sensor fusion.
View project → Concept · tunnel validation PROJECT // 03Active boundary-layer control via phase-locked transverse surface waves and resonance-tuned fluid-structure interaction.
View project → v0.1 · in development PROJECT // 04A real-world telemetry pipeline and simulation-model calibration platform — closing the loop between flight data and the 6-DOF sim.
View project → Build days · Aug 8–9 PROJECT // 05A garage-built subsonic wind-tunnel test stand for experimental aerodynamic-coefficient characterization — shared by STRATOS and PHASAR.
View project → Qual flights · Oct–Nov PROJECT // 06A target-apogee, timed-recovery altitude demonstration vehicle for the American Rocketry Challenge — a physically separate rocket from STRATOS.
View project →Contact & Follow
Questions, mentorship, sponsorship, or just curious what we're up to? Reach out — and follow along as we rebuild our public presence.
Project 01 · Active Flight Control & Aerodynamics
Hardware in hand · L1 cert flight Aug 2Servo-canard Torque-Reducing Adaptive Tonality Orientation System
A 2×2 factorial analysis of Lyapunov-stable MRAC roll control using servo-canards and composite bend-twist fins — flown across four identical Aerobee Hi rockets (R1–R4).
The experiment
Rockets roll naturally, and that roll is exactly the phenomenon we study. Across four identical 3" Madcow Aerobee Hi airframes we vary two factors: an active servo-canard controller running Model Reference Adaptive Control, and a passive set of bend-twist composite fins mounted on a bearing so they spin freely. Flying the full matrix isolates how each strategy damps roll — measured, not assumed.
The MRAC loop runs 500 Hz IMU → 25 Hz adaptive update → 50 Hz servo PWM, engaging ~1.5–1.7 s after ignition through the ~12 s coast to apogee. Aero coefficients are validated in FLOWTECH.
Flight campaign
Vehicle spec
Competitions & tracks
| CCCSEF → CSEF → ISEF (one pipeline) | Dec 1–15 reg ⚑ |
| Regeneron ISEF 2027 | May 8–14, 2027 |
| Breakthrough Junior Challenge | Fall window |
| ISSDC | Varies |
| RWDC (Real-World Design) | Spring |
Project 02 · Biomechatronics & Human-Machine Interfaces
Phase 1 · ORCA hand buildSurface-EMG and Yoked-Inertial Network for Anthropomorphic Peripheral Synthesis and Execution
A 22-DoF myoelectric and tri-inertial wearable interface for dual tendon-driven robotic manipulators — sEMG gesture control fused with IMU arm-pose estimation.
What it is
SYNAPSE is our platform for actuation, embedded control, and biosignal processing. A tendon-driven ORCA hand (open-source, ETH Zürich) is driven by 16 micro-servos; Dynamixel axes and a wrist extend it into an arm; an 8-channel sEMG band reads muscle intent; and yoked IMU bands estimate arm pose. The end goal is full sEMG + IMU fusion with inverse kinematics and dual-arm collision avoidance.
We prove the loop first — a single MG90S servo under Arduino + Python arrow-key control — before scaling to ORCA and Dynamixel.
Build phases
System spec
Competitions
| Conrad Challenge | Oct 30 · Jan 8 ⚑ |
| NRC (Nat'l Robotics Challenge) | ~Feb 15 reg ⚑ |
| TSA Engineering Design | Feb state |
| Samsung Solve for Tomorrow | Fall–winter |
Project 03 · Active Flow Control & Smart Materials
Concept · wind-tunnel validationPhase-locked Harmonic Actuated Surface for Aerodynamic Resonance
Active boundary-layer control via phase-locked transverse surface waves and resonance-tuned fluid-structure interaction — a driven front-splitter surface that reduces drag.
What it is
PHASAR drives a splitter surface with a phase-locked transverse traveling wave to actively manage the boundary layer and delay flow separation. It sits at the intersection of four disciplines: fluid dynamics (separated-flow control), structural vibration (cantilever dynamics), biomimetics (dolphin ultrasonic microvibration drag reduction), and control (phase-locked-loop tracking of the driven mode).
Sub-threads include adjoint-based optimal actuation for separated flow, nonlocal cantilever-beam paradoxes, and robust backbone tracking via PLL — validated in FLOWTECH with a PLL + FFT pipeline.
Progress timeline
At a glance
Competitions
| MIT THINK | Jan 1 app ⚑ |
| Diamond Challenge | ~Jan 15 ⚑ |
| Genius Olympiad | ~Mar 7 ⚑ |
Project 04 · Flight Software, Data Ingestion & System Identification
v0.1 · in developmentComputational Avionics & Launch Ingestion Base for Empirical Refinement
A real-world telemetry pipeline and simulation-model calibration platform — it ingests flight data, compares it to a 6-DOF model, and refines the physics until the sim matches reality.
What it is
CALIBER is the software backbone of the rocketry program. It ingests raw telemetry — RFD900x downlink and on-board flash logs — cleans and fuses it, then runs it against a 6-DOF rigid-body simulation built on OpenRocket, OpenMotor, AeroVECTOR and OpenFOAM. Where sim and flight disagree, system identification refines aerodynamic and motor coefficients and feeds better priors back into STRATOS and CHRONOS.
Every variable is derived from first principles and documented in the open. It shares the ingestion pipeline with the team's ANOVA/statistics stack, and ships as the Congressional App Challenge entry.
Version roadmap
At a glance
Project 05 · Experimental Test Infrastructure & Aerodynamics
Build days · Aug 8–9Fluid-dynamics Laboratory for Optimized Wind-tunnel Testing & Evaluation of Coefficient Heuristics
A subsonic wind-tunnel test stand for experimental aerodynamic-coefficient characterization — the measurement backbone that grounds STRATOS and PHASAR in real data.
What it is
FLOWTECH is a garage-built subsonic wind tunnel: a plywood plenum with a bell-mouth intake, high-power blowers, a slip-ring for rotating tests, and sensorized walls. It exists to characterize aerodynamic coefficients experimentally — canard and fin aero for STRATOS, and driven-surface flow for PHASAR — so both research programs can validate their models against hardware.
Test data flows into the same pipeline CALIBER uses, closing the loop from tunnel measurement to calibrated simulation.
Build & commissioning
At a glance
Role
Enabling infrastructure — no direct competition entry. FLOWTECH's measurements underpin the research submissions of STRATOS (science-fair pipeline) and PHASAR (MIT THINK, Diamond, Genius Olympiad).
Project 06 · Precision Vehicle Design & Competition Propulsion
Qual flights · Oct–NovCompetition High-precision Rocket for Optimized Navigation & Overhead Sensing
A target-apogee, timed-recovery altitude demonstration vehicle for the American Rocketry Challenge — a physically separate rocket from STRATOS, led by Niketh.
What it is
CHRONOS is built for the American Rocketry Challenge, where the score rewards precision: reach a target apogee and land within a target flight time, with the sum of the two best qualification flights scored as close to zero as possible. It's an original-design vehicle with an ESP32 control sleeve, flown through NAR-observed qualification windows toward the national finals.
Team of three (with room for DVAEC add-on subsystems up to ten). Every flight needs an adult L1+ NAR Flier of Record present (JrHPP).
Campaign timeline
At a glance
Competition
| ARC registration | ~Dec 6 ⚑ |
| Final qual flight | ~Mar 30 ⚑ |
| National Finals · Great Meadow VA | May 15–16 |
Crew
Four members, four ownership areas — integration & research lead, robotics & electronics, CAD & launch operations, and data systems. Together we take each project from first principles to flight, field, and published results. We also run DVAEC, our school engineering club.
Integration, program management, and research lead — owns STRATOS control loops and the CALIBER sim, and serves as cert/launch pilot.
CAD, printing, and the CHRONOS ARC rocket; control-sleeve electronics, launch-ops support, and FLOWTECH wind-tunnel co-build.
SYNAPSE arm assembly, electronics, and sEMG hardware; documentation, and Conrad Challenge lead.
Programming, validation, and assembly support; owns the ANOVA / statistics pipeline and the CALIBER data operations.
Join / collaborate
We're always open to teammates, mentors, and sponsors. Reach out and tell us what you're into.
Schedule
Every deadline and milestone across all projects, chronological — Aug 2026 through June 2027. ⚑ marks a hard deadline. A leading ~ means the date is approximate.
| Date | Deadline / milestone | Project | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1–2, 2026 | STRATOS — L1 certification flight (Helm CA) | STRATOS | Flight |
| Aug 8–9 | FLOWTECH — wind-tunnel build days | FLOWTECH | Build |
| Aug 10 | DVAEC club orientation | Team | Milestone |
| Aug 11 | FLOWTECH — baseline characterization | FLOWTECH | Test |
| ~Aug 28 | Conrad Challenge — Activation Stage opens | SYNAPSE | Window |
| ~Sep 14–20 | Del Norte Launch 1 — Mission R-1 (Config A) | STRATOS | Flight |
| Fall window | Congressional App Challenge — submit app + source | CALIBER | Submission |
| Oct 1–31 | ARC — qualification flight window 1 | CHRONOS | Window |
| ~Oct 12–18 | Del Norte Launch 2 — Mission R-2 (Config B) | STRATOS | Flight |
| Late Oct | CCCSEF — registration opens | STRATOS | Window |
| Oct 30 ⚑ | Conrad Challenge — Activation Stage closes | SYNAPSE | Deadline |
| Fall window | Breakthrough Junior Challenge — explainer video | STRATOS | Submission |
| Nov 1 | MIT THINK — applications open | PHASAR | Window |
| Nov 1–30 | ARC — qualification flight window 2 | CHRONOS | Window |
| Mid-Nov ⚑ | TSA Engineering Design — priority chapter affiliation | SYNAPSE | Deadline |
| Nov 15 | Genius Olympiad — applications open | PHASAR | Window |
| ~Nov 16–22 | Del Norte Launch 3 — Mission R-3 (Config C) | STRATOS | Flight |
| Dec 1–15 ⚑ | CCCSEF — project registration due | STRATOS | Deadline |
| ~Dec 6 ⚑ | American Rocketry Challenge — national registration | CHRONOS | Deadline |
| ~Dec 14–20 | Del Norte Launch 4 — Mission R-4 (Config D) · closes R1–R4 | STRATOS | Flight |
| Jan 1, 2027 ⚑ | MIT THINK — application due | PHASAR | Deadline |
| Jan 8 ⚑ | Conrad Challenge — Innovation Stage (brief + video + website) | SYNAPSE | Deadline |
| ~Jan 15 ⚑ | Diamond Challenge — written concept narrative | PHASAR | Deadline |
| Jan 30–31 | MIT THINK — semifinalists / winners announced | PHASAR | Result |
| ~Feb 15 ⚑ | NRC (National Robotics Challenge) — registration | SYNAPSE | Deadline |
| Feb 15–21 | CA State TSA Conference — Engineering Design | SYNAPSE | Event |
| ~Feb 27 | Conrad Challenge — finalists announced | SYNAPSE | Result |
| ~Mar 7 ⚑ | Genius Olympiad — application deadline | PHASAR | Deadline |
| Mar 1–15 | CCCSEF — regional fair judging (Contra Costa County) | STRATOS | Event |
| ~Mar 30 ⚑ | ARC — final qualification flight deadline | CHRONOS | Deadline |
| Spring | RWDC (Real-World Design Challenge) | STRATOS | Event |
| Apr 3–5 | NRC — competition (Marion, OH) | SYNAPSE | Event |
| ~Apr 10–11 | CSEF — CA State fair (Cal Lutheran Univ, Thousand Oaks) | STRATOS | Event |
| Apr 22–25 | Conrad Challenge — Innovation Summit (Space Center Houston) | SYNAPSE | Event |
| Early May | Diamond Challenge — Limitless World Summit | PHASAR | Event |
| May 8–14 ⚑ | Regeneron ISEF 2027 (LA Convention Center) | STRATOS | Event |
| May 15–16 ⚑ | ARC — National Finals (Great Meadow, VA) | CHRONOS | Event |
| Early June | Genius Olympiad — competition (RIT, NY) | PHASAR | Event |
| June | National TSA Conference (National Harbor, MD) | SYNAPSE | Event |
Legend — ⚑ hard deadline · amber date: confirmed · ~ / window: approximate, confirm with organizer. ISSDC and Samsung Solve for Tomorrow run on rolling windows not yet fixed.