On February 17, 2018, the USC Rocket Propulsion Lab successfully tested Graveler II, the largest composite-cased amateur rocket motor ever successfully fired to date. The 8-inch diameter, 80.5-inch long R-class solid rocket motor delivered a total impulse of 42,000 lbf-sec. Graveler II was fired in a carbon-epoxy motorcase with a carbon-phenolic nozzle, all of which were designed and fabricated by USC students.

Graveler II, short for “Ground Traveler,” was a static test of the rocket motor for the upcoming Traveler III spaceshot rocket. This test was a key milestone in the development of Traveler III, validating the motor case and nozzle design while also providing important data to characterize the performance of the rocket motor.

The amazing IR images at the end were taken by a camera lent to the team by FLIR Systems.