How to grow a tech-based student rocket competition

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How to grow a tech-based student rocket
competition
By Peter Plumley 2007 Northeast Regional Space
Grant Meetings September 7th 2007
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Growth of design, build and compete events
Exponential growth in teams participating in The
CNY Rocket Team Challenge.
Linear growth in number of teams participating in
Bridge Buildem and Bustem.
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CNY Rocket Team Challenge

• Five years running
• October Skies (1st year college freshman)
• CNY Rocket Team Challenge
• Spring HS program 2003
• Expanded to 4th 12th in 2006

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Current Program Boundaries

• Organized by MOST, SU (LCSmith) and TACNY
• Major sponsorship by LMCO NASA Space Grant
• Divisions
• Middle school/Junior High 4th - 8th
• High school 9th 12th
• Launch Sequence - First Saturday in June
• flies with altimeter, eggstronaut, on-board audio
  and video camera transmitter
• Use rocket simulation software to assist in
  design and to simulate performance and stability
• Judging
• Aesthetics, Presentation, Successful flight,
  payload recovery, and accuracy in estimating
  apogee

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Rocket Stability

• Center of Mass (CM or CG) during flight, point
  about which an unstable rocket tumbles.
• Three axes of rotation
• Center of Pressure (CP)
• In the presence of flowing air,
• that point of equal stress
• CM must be forward of the CP
• or rocket will be unstable!

Roll
Yaw
Pitch
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Recording Altimeters
Audible peak reporting with full flight logging
and download.
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Demonstration High Power Rocket Project

• ¾ scale Nike Sounding Rocket
• Schools invited to design and build payloads
• 150 Pound lift, 8,000 ft apogee possible
• Live GPS tracking
• with google earth.

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Predicted Apogee 5500Recorded - 5416
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Rocket Videos

• Example of rocket project without LMCO support.

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X-Treme X-plorers

• Rocket project with LMCO NASA Space Grant
  support!

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Growth due to

• Pizza
• T-Shirts
• High Tech Large Scale