Unique NASA Opportunity to Launch Rockets (2013)

Application Deadline: 15 October 2012
Selection date: 22 October 2012
Launch Competition: April 27, 2013

Congratulations to last year's Regional Rocket Launch Competition Winners

Engineering Teams
First Place: Team UC, University of Cincinnati
Second Place: Rough Riders, University of Illinois
Third Place: Team Woosh Generator, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Non-Engineering Teams
First Place: Team Lorain, Lorain County Community College

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The Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium (WSGC) announces the Regional Rocket Design Competition. This competition is an opportunity for students to design and construct rockets to be launched at a competition in the spring of 2013 from Bong Recreational Area.

Up to fifteen teams will be selected to take part in this competition. To qualify for the competition, interested teams of approximately four students should contact their State Space Grant Consortium (see list at end). Teams are allowed to seek advise from Industry, Tripoli, NAR, and others. Engineering teams will compete to design a one-stage, high-powered rocket that will achieve an apogee of 3000 ft as accurately as possible. The competition will also include design analysis, oral presentation, and assessment of data results, scored by professional engineers from both academia and industry.

Purpose

The mission of NASA's Space Grant Program is to contribute to the nation's science enterprise by funding education, research, and informal education projects through a national network of university-based Space Grant consortia. To carry out this mission, the Great Midwestern Space Grant Consortium and its individual state consortia sponsor a broad range of programs relevant to its mission and objectives.

Further information about the mission and objectives of each state may be found at that Space Grant’s home page:

Illinois: http://www.ae.illinois.edu/isgc/

Indiana: https://engineering.purdue.edu/INSGC

Iowa: http://www.iaspacegrant.org/

Kansas: http://www.nasainkansas.org/SPACE_GRANT.html

Michigan: http://www.umich.edu/~msgc/

Minnesota: http://www.aem.umn.edu/msgc/

Missouri: http://web.mst.edu/~spaceg/

Ohio: http://www.osgc.org/

Wisconsin: http://www.uwgb.edu/wsgc

It is the purpose of this Announcement of Opportunity to support the innovative, visionary projects that are student-led and designed to fully realize Space Grant’s goal of assisting in training the next generation of aerospace professionals.

Eligibility

All student teams must be sponsored by your State’s Space Grant. Any non-U.S. citizen team members, student or faculty, must bring that fact to the attention of their Space Grant for possible alternative funding. Each team will be required to have a committed faculty mentor and are allowed to seek advise/mentorship from Industry, Tripoli, NAR, and others. Graduate students are permitted to join a team but may not comprise the majority of the team members.

No experience is necessary to compete. Teams will be given the basic training and information required at a kick-off meeting shortly after selection.

Competition Engineering Parameters**

The object of this year's competition is to design a one-stage, high-powered rocket that will accurately achieve an apogee of 3000 feet and be recovered safely and in flyable condition. An electronically deployed parachute recovery system with and motor based backup deployment is required. The winner of the flight portion of the competition will be the team whose rocket completes a successful flight and achieves an apogee nearest to 3000 feet. All structural components and materials must be obtained from reputable high-powered rocketry vendors, or an engineering analysis demonstrating their suitability must be included with the design.

Additional details will be available in the competition handbook that will be made available.

Questions sent to Dan Hawk, Project Director, at hawkd@uwgb.edu or the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium at wsgc@uwgb.edu will be answered on an individual basis and duplicate questions will be posted to a separate FAQ page.

Interested students with questions about the capabilities of the launch motors should access http://www.thrustcurve.com. Those seeking help in getting started are highly encouraged to contact Frank Nobile (Maxq3@aol.com) or Bob Justus (bob@mhbofni.com) of Tripoli Rocket Association (a high-power rocketry association). Students interested in gaining information or experience by observing rocket launches are encouraged to contact these individuals, or to attend one of the regular rocket launches held by Tripoli at Bong Recreational Area. More information and launch schedules can be accessed at http://www.tripoliwisconsin.org.

**Should there be any change in the specifications of the rocket or motor(s) to be used, an amendment to this announcement will be released. The current heightened state of alert in the United States may require an adjustment in launch specifications at short notice. Teams are therefore encouraged to be flexible and adaptable.

Competition Scoring

The total score for each student team will be based on the following: 

Flight Readiness Report (provided three weeks prior to launch)	25%
Presentation of design report, safety inspection	20%
Flight performance	40%
Post-Flight Performance Report	15%

Flight readiness reports will be judged by a panel of experts from aerospace and related fields (parameters of this report will be provided to participating teams upon selection). Students will also be required to give an oral presentation of their design report before the launch, including their predicted results for the accelerometer, and submit their rocket for a safety inspection. Determination of the score for flight performance will include the apogee nearest to 3000 feet. Subsequent to the flight, teams will be provided actual accelerometer results gathered in-flight for comparison to predicted results.

To download the audio from the informational kick-off meeting, please click here.

To download the powerpoint from the information kick-off meeting, please click here.

Applying to the Program

Each State may have their own process of team selection. Please go to http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/spacegrant/home/Space_Grant_Consortium_Websites.html to find contact people from your state Space Grant.

Questions may be directed first to Dan Hawk hawkd@uwgb.edu and second to:

Program Office
Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium
University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
Green Bay, WI 54311
920-465-2108
wsgc@uwgb.edu