High Power Certification

High Power Certification is a tiered certification level applied to members of rocketry organizations such as Tripoli Rocketry Association and National Association of Rocketry. In most jurisdictions, there are 3 levels of certification, permitting members to fly motors of increasing impulse class as their certification level increases.

Rocket Motor Classes by Impulse
Motor Classification	Total Impulse (Newton Seconds)	Certification Required
A	1.26 - 2.5	None
B	2.51 - 5	None
C	5.01 - 10	None
D	10.01 - 20	None
E	20.01 - 40	None
F	40.01 - 80	None
G	80.01 - 160	None
H	160.01 - 320	Level 1
I	320.01 - 640	Level 1
J	640.01 - 1,280	Level 2
K	1,280.01 - 2,560	Level 2
L	2,560.01 - 5,120	Level 2
M	5,120.01 - 10,240	Level 3
N	10,240.01 - 20,480	Level 3
O	20,480.01 - 40,960	Level 3

High Power Rockets

In order to purchase or operate a high power motor, a given individual must be possess a High Power Rocketry certification. A motor is considered High Power if it has more than 160 Newton-seconds of impulse or 80 Newtons of average thrust. To the left is a table depicting motor classes. As illustrated by the table to the left, certification is required to purchase and operate rocket motors of H and above. There are some exceptions to the rule -- as with a G104 motor, which requires certification because it has 104 Newtons of average thrust (motors with an average thrust of 80 Newtons and above are considered High Power).

A rocket is considered a High Power Rocket (under NFPA 1127) if it contains a High Power Rocket Motor (160 Newton-seconds of total impulse or 80 Newtons of average thrust) or if it:

• Has multiple motors that together exceed 320 Newton-seconds of total impulse
• Exceeds 125 grams of propellant
• Weighs more than 1,500 grams (including motor/propellant weight)
• Uses a hybrid motor
• Includes ductile metal in its airframe

Level 1 Certification

Holding a Level 1 (L1) certification entitles a member of the certifying body to purchase and fly rocket motors of H and I impulse class (for NAR and Tripoli) at sanctioned launches. The certification process involves building and flying a rocket powered by a motor of that impulse class, and successfully recovering the rocket such that it could be flown again without repair, if handed another motor. Prior to attempting an L1 cert flight, the Range Safety Officer (RSO) will inspect the flyers rocket, and it should be made known to them that the flyer is making a certification attempt. A single L1 impulse motor can be purchased by an individual for the purpose of obtaining a level one certification. Some rocket motor vendors (Apogee Components, for example) allow the online purchase of an L1 impulse motor for certification attempts. Rockets used for certification attempts may be scratch-built or assembled from a kit.

Requirements

• Candidate must be 18 years or older at time of certification (candidates under the age of 18 may qualify for a Junior HPR Certification)
• Candidate must be a member of NAR or Tripoli
• Motors used in certification must be at least an H motor (not a G, even if it has more than 80 Newtons average thrust)

Certification Process

1. The certification candidate must complete the Applicant Information section of a NAR L1 HPR Certification Application. This application may be filled out at home or requested at the launch.
2. The rocket will be inspected by a Range Safety Officer before flight. The certification team will ask the candidate the questions on the back of the certification application and mark the corresponding boxes.
3. The candidate will launch their rocket. The entirety of the flight must be witnessed by the certification team.
4. The rocket is returned to the certification team for inspection, in order to verify that the rocket was recovered safely and is in the condition to be flown again.
5. The certification team will fill out the remainder of the Certification Application with details of the success or failure or the flight.
6. Upon a successful flight, the certification team will sign the Certification Affidavit to attest that the certification attempt was a success. The temporary certification card on the application will also be completed and signed.
7. The application form is returned to the candidate, who must fill out the Digital L1 HPR Certification Form -- an electronic copy of the physical form (which includes scans/photos of the physical certification application).
8. After submitting the digital certification form, the organization will confirm with the certification team members that the certification attempt was successful, and will mail a certification card to the candidate.

Certification Tips

There are few things an individual can do to increase the likelihood of a successful L1 certification attempt:

• Stick with single deployment (motor ejection). Some kits come with an electronic bay and multiple recovery devices. It is best to avoid using these extra features for a certification attempt; added complexity increases the chance of failure. If a drogue chute fails to deploy, for example, the rocket may be traveling too fast by the time the main chute deploys to successfully decelerate before impact.
• Use as low a power motor as possible. For a certification attempt, it is best to keep altitude and velocity as low as possible to allow for a smooth flight that puts the least structural stress possible on the rocket.
• Run accurate simulations on OpenRocket or other simulator. Simulations help provide approximate expectations for the flight of a rocket based on its shape and weight. This can also aid in choosing the appropriate ejection delay. Some kit vendors provide OpenRocket or RockSim files for their kits, which can be tweaked with the precise data for a given rockets construction.
• Don't rely on friction motor retention. Ensure that the motor is securely fixed within the rocket and can not come loose during flight by using a motor retainer device.

Level 2 Certification

Requirements

• The flier must be a current NAR or Tripoli member with a L1 certification.
• The motor must be a J, K, or L impulse.

Process

1. First the flier must take a written test on rocketry physics, best practices in design and operations, and rules and regulations.
2. The rocket will then be inspected by the certifying official.
3. Launch and recover the rocket.

Level 3 Certification

Requirements

• The flier must be a current NAR or Tripoli member with a L2 certification.
• The rocket shall use a motor with an impulse rating of M or higher (greater than 5120 Newton seconds).
• The rocket shall use a redundant parachute ejection system.