NASA Evolves Student Rocketry Challenge, Enhances Ties to Space Launch
System
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Student teams from 26 colleges and universities in 16 states and Puerto Rico
will design and launch innovative rockets and payloads as part of the
2013-2014 NASA Student Launch rocketry competition.
The NASA Student Launch will be held May 15-17 at the Bonneville Salt Flats
in Tooele County, Utah. There, the student teams will undergo a rigorous
launch readiness review -- just like actual NASA flight missions -- and
launch their rockets. This historic site has hosted numerous American
land-speed tests since 1914 and also was the recovery site for comet and
interstellar dust samples returned from NASA's Stardust mission in 2006.
"This new engineering competition ties participating students' work to NASA's
pursuit of new, more demanding missions," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA's
associate administrator for human exploration and operations. "Giving these
students exposure to building and launching model rockets to 20,000 feet
allows them to recognize the challenges in pushing new limits."
The student rocketry challenge is an evolution of the NASA Student Launch
Projects, which for 12 years challenged students to build rockets of their
own design capable of flying 1 mile high. The challenge was inspired by
NASA's mission to build, test and fly the new Space Launch System, the
nation's next flagship rocket for solar system exploration. This latest
competition reaches for even greater heights -- taking student-built vehicles
more than 3 miles high, into the troposphere.
Another new feature of this competition is the requirement that the teams
build their vehicles with a parachute-based recovery system and provide three
payloads capable of delivering data that could shape future NASA missions.
Of the three payloads, one is mandatory for all teams: a landing hazard
detection system, including a camera and customized software to transmit
real-time information about surface conditions to operators on the ground.
The teams will select the other two payloads from a list of options, all of
which support NASA spacecraft development challenges. These range from
studying how liquids slosh in microgravity and refining new liquid propulsion
systems, to studying the environmental effects of supersonic flight on
vehicle paints and coatings. All payloads must be recoverable and reusable.
Teams must predict the maximum flight altitude of their vehicle based on the
research needs of their payloads. No rocket may fly higher than 20,000 feet.
The team whose rocket comes closest to their predicted maximum altitude will
win the coveted altitude award.
In addition, each team must prepare detailed preliminary and post-launch
reports, and build and maintain a public website about their work. They also
must develop an educational engagement program to inspire younger students in
their local schools and communities.
Teams will be judged on their successful launch and payload deployment, as
well as the thoroughness of supporting documentation. The winning team will
receive a $5,000 prize provided by the corporate sponsor for the rocketry
challenge, ATK Aerospace Group of Promontory, Utah. NASA and ATK judges will
present a variety of additional awards for winning elements of the challenge,
including a new safety award for the team that best integrates safeguards
into their vehicle design, launch plan and ground operations.
The Student Rocket Launch continues NASA's commitment to using its space
missions and programs as launch pads for engaging students in their pursuit
of the vitally important STEM career fields: science, technology, engineering
and mathematics.
The competition is organized by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., and sponsored by NASA's Human Exploration and Operations
Mission Directorate, with corporate sponsorship by ATK Aerospace Group.
For a complete list of participating teams and information about the
competition, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/education/studentlaunchFor more information about NASA's education programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/education
