Hello! I'm Brett

I grew up in a small town in Southeastern Idaho. Many people would say that there isn't much to do there, but I never had any problems finding projects to keep me entertained. From a young age, I was inspired by my grandfather's stories of working on the space shuttle to build rockets of my own. My first attempt was a bit of conduit packed with a bunch of June grass and some scrap wire (for ignition). Since I was only 5 at the time, my family was not enthusiastic about me lighting things on fire (or using electricity), so they didn't let me connect the wires to anything and the countryside was spared immolation. It did, however, inspire my parents to get me my first real rocket: an Estes "Outlaw".

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Through elementary school, my interest in science and technology grew. I received an Estes Astrocam, built a kit with my grandfather, and built another with my father. I have fond memories of launching rockets with my father at the soccer fields near our home. Due to the age of my childhood home, I had the opportunity to help with a lot of home-improvement projects, which is where I learned to use tools and gained some of my problem solving skills. 

 

Just before 8th grade, a friend and I decided we wanted to build a larger rocket. I'd always been interested in propulsion, and wanted to make the propellant myself. I still have a drawing of the design we came up with that day, and it can best be described as a flying IED. The plan was to fill a PVC motor case with our own propellant, put that in another PVC tube and let it rip. Thankfully, we didn't have any money and no chemical suppliers were willing to sell to minors, so we had to settle with making gradual improvements to our design while learning as much as we could on the internet. 

 

After several years, the project had become solely mine, and I was introduced to some people who were affiliated with rocket clubs. Having a teacher helped me learn a lot and designs became much more realistic after that. Unfortunately, I had ambitious design goals, not a lot of experience, a touch of perfectionism, and not a lot of money, so the project stalled until after I graduated high-school. As a graduation present, my parents gave me the money I needed to finish the project, and I spent much of that summer getting the Eagle ready to fly. As a bonus, I was now 18 and could certify on my own. 

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Since my goal was rather ambitious for my level of experience (I wanted to break the sound barrier and exceed 5,280 ft AGL with a rocket that was 5-feet tall), it is safe to say that I had bitten off more than I could chew. I remember how nervous I was as I prepped the dual-deploy system, flight computer, and radio transmitter. Due to this, I forgot to drill a pressure-relief hole in the parachute bays and upon launch the rapid increase in relative pressure deployed the drogue parachute during boost. I was devastated. 

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The rocket was heavily damaged. The Kevlar shock cord had torn an 8-inch slot in the fiberglass airframe, the drogue parachute was gone, the main chute was damaged, and there was a crack in the fillet of the fin root. I couldn't fly it like that. 

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Or so I thought. The great people at the club launch encouraged me to modify the rocket and launch again. They helped me cut off the damaged section, loaned me a parachute, and supplied me with a much smaller motor. We stuck the nosecone on the now-shorter booster section and I was able to certify using the "Eaglet" as I named the now much smaller rocket. I am grateful for the support of those club members. They didn't have to help that kid, but because they did, it became a positive experience. It was an important lesson in flexibility and resilience. 

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Take a look at the college portfolio page to see how I applied these lessons, learned others, and refined my approach to problem solving. Or jump straight to the Ursa page to see how I contributed while developing rocket engines professionally. ​