Category Archives: Rocketry

Contests and Games, Rocketry

SEDS Rocketry Challenge

SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) is sponsoring a rocket contest: 2013 High Power Rocketry Challenge -SEDS

The SEDS Rocketry Challenge returns for 2013. This year teams are challenged with designing, building, and flying a rocket from the ground up that can carry a 3.0 pound (1.36kg) payload to 10,000 ft. as quickly as possible.

A new component this year charges teams with carrying a payload of scientific and technical value. Teams are encouraged to design a payload that will carry back valuable scientific data or tackles a technical challenge. All teams that compete will have a chance to present their rocket, payload, and findings at SpaceVision 2013 in Tempe, Arizona.

Teams will be scored on three primary goals:

  • Reaching an altitude 10,000 ft (3,050m)AGL while carrying a 3.0lb (1.36kg) payload*
  • Time to altitude
  • Carrying an innovative scientific and technical payload

A letter of intent is due by Friday, March 1, 2013. Teams may enter the competition up until Monday, April 8th, when the design report is due. Please submit your letter of intent to the competition coordinator, Chris Ogden, at christopher.ogden@seds.org.

Key Dates:

  • April 8, 2013 : Design Report Due
  • May 31, 2013 : Build Report Due
  • September 2, 2013 :  Launch Deadline
  • September 6, 2013 : Launch Report Deadline

Winners of the SEDS 2013 High Power Rocketry Challenge will be announced at SpaceVision 2013 at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.

The project is currently seeking sponsors for awards to the top teams. If you are interested please contact christopher.ogden@seds.org for more information.

For more information, please see the following documentation:

SEDS 2013 Rocketry Challenge

Rocketry

Australian ASLI rockets to carry student payloads

A reader points me to the Australian advanced rocketry group  Academic Space Launch Initiative (ASLI), which was profiled in an Moreton Bay newpaper: Candles and chemicals mixed to launch rockets into space in Academic Space Launch Initiative project – The Courier-Mail – Jan.19.13.

The organization, formed by Wayne Tayor and Jamie Anderson, seeks to provide rides to high altitudes for payloads designed and built by university students .

Here’s a blog post about one of the recent ASLI rocket tests: ASLI Completes First Demonstration Flight Of Educational Payload Rocket. – ASLI 2010 – Dec.5.12

Contests and Games, Education, Rocketry

NASA/Ahoora sponsor What If? rocketry contest for high schoolers

An announcement from about the What If? Live Student Design Challenge:

NASA, Ahoora Foundation Unite to Ignite
Students’ Passion for Science, Space, and Technology

WASHINGTON — Candy, soda and other everyday items will be the tools of the trade for teenage rocket makers competing in the What If? Live Student Design Challenge, which was kicked off Tuesday by NASA and the Ahoora Foundation of Plano, Texas. Registration is open through Feb. 28 for the worldwide contest, in which 14- to 18-year-old students will design experimental propulsion systems using materials that are cheap and easy to get.

What If? is designed to excite students about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The goal is to develop their creative and analytical abilities by learning about the growing need for green fuels and designing a vehicle propulsion system using commonly available materials, including sweet treats and carbonated beverages. Students in two age categories, 14-16 and 17-18, may work alone or in groups of as many as four. They must create a research plan, write a research paper, develop and build the propulsion system, make a video showing the vehicle in action, and submit the video to judges via YouTube.com.

A panel of scientists, astronauts and educators will judge the entries and select finalists. There will be one winning design in each age category. Winners will be announced in May and receive special recognition from NASA and Ahoora.

To register, submit research, and learn more about vehicle design, the official rules and other information about the What If? Live Student Design Challenge, including view a two-minute video of the propulsion system in action, visit: http://www.whatifprize.org