Typhon Heavy

Champion Vehicle

Designed and manufactured over the course of the 2016-2017 NASA Student Launch season, "Typhon Heavy" was River City Rocketry's most sophisticated and powerful rocket ever built. The rocket, weighing 51lbs and standing 12 feet tall, produced 700lbs of thrust and experienced 15 g’s during liftoff, accelerating the rocket to 560mph in 2.3 seconds. Manufactured entirely in-house, the vehicle is constructed from custom filament wound carbon fiber components. The rocket carried a dynamic apogee-targeting airbraking system, an autonomous multirotor payload designed for target detection and upright landing, and 4 custom parachutes manufactured by the team.

Flight History:

The rocket was flown for its fifth and final time at NASA competition launch on April 8th, 2017. The rocket reached an apogee of 5,303 feet, a mere 23 feet from the team’s target altitude of 1 mile, making it one of the most accurate flights in the team’s 6-year history. The design and flight performance of Typhon Heavy earned NASA's Best Vehicle Design Award, and landed the team a 1st place finish against 40 other teams.

Engineering Excellence

The vehicle was designed with a focus on robust engineering and precise flight dynamics. Features included:

• Active Roll Control: To maintain stability during ascent.
• Targeted Landing: Using a steerable recovery system.
• Autonomous Payload: A scientific payload that performed image analysis of ground targets.

Legacy

The success of Typhon Heavy laid the groundwork for future complex projects like Zenith and Bold Venture, proving the team's ability to execute complex engineering challenges.