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New Mexico State University students completed a capstone project that involved designing, testing and manufacturing equipment to support suborbital rocket launches at Spaceport America.
Spaceport America created real-world capstone projects for upper-level university students to help with graduation requirements in 2024, according to a news release. A group of 13 students from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and NMSU participated in the capstone project over the 2024-2025 academic year. Of that group, nine were NMSU students, the release states.
The nine NMSU students from the university’s College of Engineering completed two separate capstone projects. The first centered around developing a launch rail adapter that would allow the integration of smaller rockets onto Spaceport America’s full-sized launch rail, according to the release.
Another NMSU student capstone project was dedicated to designing and fabricating a mockup rocket for New Mexico Spaceport Authority. With an adjustable weight range between 200 and 2,400 pounds, the mock rocket aims to serve as a high-quality training tool for rocket assembly and loading procedures and perform load tests, according to the news release.
The work also led to a partnership between Spaceport America and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) club at NMSU, according to the news release. Spaceport America plans to host NAR events in the future to provide more opportunities to New Mexico students of all ages to get involved in aerospace, according to the news release.
In addition to the students’ NMSU advisors, they worked under the direction of Joachim Lohn-Jaramillo, who is a graduate of Las Cruces High School. Lohn-Jaramillo earned a Ph.D. at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, according to the release.
Throughout the academic year, the students worked with Lohn-Jaramillo and additional New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) personnel to develop various pieces of launch rail equipment and accessories.
The students presented their projects during a design clinic held in late April and early May.
“We are very pleased to support these students and the universities,” said New Mexico Spaceport Authority Executive Director Scott McLaughlin. “These projects solve important problems for us and help students get real-world experience.”
