Watch USC Students Make History For Amateur Rocket Launch 89 Miles Above Earth

A group of USC Viterbi School of Engineering students have broken the international altitude record for a rocket, reaching further into space than any non-governmental and non-commercial group have ever flown before. The previous record of 380,000 feet stood for 20 years, before falling to the student-run group USC Rocket Propulsion Lab (USCRPL) by 90,000 feet.

When one thinks of a rocket capable of making it into outer space, they most likely think about something like SpaceX’s Starship, which recently smiled for the cameras before its sixth test flight. Or perhaps one like the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, which launched on a top secret Space Force mission this summer. However, the people behind those more advanced rockets all got their start on much smaller projects, such as Aftershock II.

“This achievement represents several engineering firsts,” explained Ryan Kraemer, executive engineer of USCRPL and an ...