“That’s the point of this whole program, is just to get hands-on experience,” Wills said.

The process, as seen on Saturday, is also a lesson in patience.

“Everything will work perfectly, except one little thing, and this one little thing won’t work, and it infuriates you,” Wills said.

Working with the team has been fun and exciting for Margaret Ratcliff, who serves a supporting role in the project. Ratcliff, a former Purdue University professor, is seeking her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Dayton.

“The team is a lot of fun,” she said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie and openness.”

Senior aerospace engineering major J. Michael Newman, the team’s president, spent Saturday morning with three other team members making sure the test site was ready for the rocket in hopes of a test run.

“It’s pretty exciting and a little nerve-racking,” he said.

And, as at NASA, if something goes horribly wrong, Newman will be ready to get back in the game.

“We’ll just pick up the pieces that are left,” he said. “We won’t give up.”

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Rocket specs

— 23 feet long

— Fueled by synthetic kerosene with help from liquid oxygen and helium

— Steering jet engine LR101, donated by Orion Propulsion

— Ignited by standard rocket igniters