On May 5th 1961, Freedom 7 lifted off the pad at Cape Canaveral, carrying Alan Shepard into a sub-orbital trajectory, making him the first American in space. 

The vehicle that hoisted Freedom 7 into space was the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, a derivative of the PGM-11 Redstone ballistic missile that found its true home serving as a sounding rocket for NASA in the late 50s and ultimatley sung its swan song laying the foundation for the manned spaceflight program at NASA, paving the way for the Gemini, Apollo, Shuttle & Artemis programs.

In honor of NASA's first manned launch vehicle, we named our training program:

REDSTONE

Redstone is RED's new, structured training pipeline that teaches its members the technical fundamentals of liquid propulsion design, with the goal of preparing them for direct contribution on RED sub teams. Members can expect to cover the following topics during the program alongside others:

• Thrust Chamber Design

• Fluid Feed and Pressure Systems

• Data Instrumentation Design

• Systems Engineering

• Safety and Operations

Alongside a project that will be tested in a hotfire!

Redstone aims to bridge the gap that is understanding the complexity of rocket propulsion without compromising the quality of learning, enabling Aggie engineers to get hands on experiance in a enviroment that was previously difficult to gain access into. 

Applicants to the Redstone program do not need to have previous experience with rocket propulsion development, aerospace engineering or other adjacent topics to be considered for the program. We primarily look for these items for someone to be considered:

• Passion to learn, ask questions and contribute into a multidisciplinary student design team

• Effort, Curiosity, & Consistency

• Willingness to be taught

Since this program is designed to develop future RED members, underclassmen will be generally prioritized but standout candidates with a interest and passion to learn are encouraged to apply.

More information can be found in the info packet (left hand side on PC, before this section on mobile)