Over the weekend, a 12-foot rocket built by the South Texas Astronomical Society launched Saturday morning to a height of 8,300 feet from a launchpad near College Station.

This was the result of a three year project launched last October called Project Vortex, said Phil Donaus to the McAllen Monitor.

STARS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting astronomical science in South Texas. Per their website, they leverage community events, educational programs and public outreach to inspire curiosity about the universe.

Learn they did. The Project Vortex team, members which were picked in November, was split into four groups: structure, avionics, operations/ recovery and business. The rocket they worked on was an L-3 kit rocket (requiring assembly) that had to meet the FAA’s stringent launch requirements. Assembly left them with a 12-foot projectile that leverages the same technology as a SpaceX rocket and cost about $5,000 (paid for in sponsorship by the H-E-B grocery chain and the Brownsville Economic Development Corporation.)

The flight was a success, lasting over 2 hours and reaching a height of over 8,300 feet before successfully parachuting down.

The team built the rocket at STX Metal Trades, a trade school on Price Road and plans to make this an ongoing project. The upcoming team will be named this coming November.