Aerospace & Rocket Launch Structures
Some projects take aluminum truss far beyond traditional staging and entertainment applications. Rocket launch towers, aerospace test structures and research facilities can require large-scale structural systems built around very specific loads, configurations and operating requirements. XSF has the fabrication experience and capabilities to take on these specialized applications.
XSF manufactures standard and custom aluminum truss systems for projects where strength, precision and flexibility are critical. From tall vertical structures and mobile launch systems to custom support structures for testing and research, our team works with engineers and project teams to develop practical truss solutions around the requirements of the application.
Below are two XSF supported university rocket programs, each with its own launch system, engineering challenges and mission.
Oregon State University HALE
Oregon State University’s High Altitude Liquid Engine (HALE) team is taking on an ambitious challenge: designing, building and launching a student-developed liquid-fueled rocket toward the edge of space. To get there, the team needed more than a rocket.
They needed a launch structure capable of supporting the vehicle through testing, integration and launch operations.
At the center of HALE’s Vertical Test and Launch Stand (VTLS) is a 60-foot launch tower primarily constructed and supported by XSF aluminum truss. Designed as a mobile system, the VTLS allows the team to conduct vertical static-fire testing and ultimately transport the launch system for flight operations.
The tower works with HALE’s hydraulic lifting system to raise the Cetus rocket into its vertical testing and launch position.
The structural requirements presented a significant challenge. HALE had previously attempted to design and manufacture the required truss in-house, while the strength requirements put the project beyond what many suppliers could provide.
Working with XSF gave the team the structural truss system needed to move the project forward and bring the complete launch system together.
From Test Stand to Launch Pad
Space Concordia
In 2022, XSF began working with the students of Space Concordia on an ambitious project: a truss launch tower for a student-built liquid-fueled rocket designed to reach the edge of space. The team of more than 100 students had already demonstrated its capabilities by developing an exceptionally powerful collegiate liquid-fueled rocket engine. Now they needed the launch infrastructure to take the next step.
XSF supplied the aluminum truss for the launch tower that would support Space Concordia’s full-scale Starsailor rocket program. The project brought XSF truss into an application far removed from traditional entertainment and staging, providing a large-scale structural system for an advanced university aerospace and rocket launch program.
In August 2025, Starsailor made its first full-scale launch attempt. The rocket lifted from the pad and accelerated for 23 seconds, reaching Mach 3 before encountering Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure. The nosecone separated and the onboard flight computer shut down the engine as designed. Although Starsailor did not reach space on its first attempt, the flight successfully demonstrated its core systems and provided the Space Concordia team with critical data for its next mission.
From Launch Tower to Mach 3
