Rocketry Safety Symposium 2026
Group photo of rocketeers at the Spaceport America Cup 2025
Welcome!
Virginia Tech Environmental Health and Safety and Aerospace and Ocean Engineering will host a one-day rocketry safety symposium for EHS professionals, team advisors, and campus partners involved in planning, reviewing, supporting, or participating in rocketry-related activities.
William "Bill" Diesslin, Director of Environmental Health and Safety Services at Iowa State University, will be presenting "Rocketry Safety for EHS Professionals". Topics include:
- Emerging Issues
- Rocketry Safety Introduction
- Rocketry 101
- Rocket Construction
- Launch Safety
- Static Testing
- Solid Motors
- Hybrids
- Liquids
Representatives from the Virginia Spaceport Authority, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which owns and operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) will provide an overview of their facilities during our lunch-and-learn session with information on their mission and purpose, launch pad information, STEM Education, their future work, and their impact to the programs.
Virginia Spaceport Authority will be available for a morning session (separate from the Rocketry for EHS Professionals program to gather information from rocketry team leads/advisors regarding space needs and site layout plans, fluids, test objectives, test contol, electrical power systems, ground support equipment, and environmental control systems. They will also be available for an afternoon session to discuss technical compliance, planning and design reviews, and what our future vision would look like for collegiate rocketry programs.
Who should attend?
- Environmental Heatlh and Safety professionals
- Fire Safety professionals
- Rocketry team leads and advisors
- Safety Managers
- Compliance Officers
- Risk Management professionals