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2017-2018 Space Grant Midwest High-Power Rocketry
Competition
The Minnesota Space Grant Consortium (MnSGC) announces its intention to run a Space Grant Midwest High-Power Rocket Competition (formerly called the Space Grant Midwest Regional Rocket Competition and previously run by the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium) during the 2017-2018 academic year. This competition will be held in the midwest but is open to college/university student teams from across the nation. This competition is an opportunity for students to design and construct custom high-power rockets to be launched in May of 2018 from a Tripoli MN launch site near North Branch, MN, about a one hour drive north of Minneapolis/St. Paul.
In this competition student teams will design and construct a “roll-orientable” single stage high-power rocket system (dual deploy optional) that will fly twice on the same I-class or J-class motor and be recovered safely and in flyable condition. The students must implement a roll-control mechanism (without using canards) that can minimize roll (on the first flight) then follow a set of commands to roll to a series of specific orientation angles then hold each orientation for 1 second (on the second flight). Students must construct a non-commercial on-board data-logging sensor package that can log roll orientation (at least) at 10+ Hz, for comparison with orientation as documented by a downward looking video camera. Bonus challenge: Implement an XBee-radio-based communication system so that the orientations requested can be reprogrammed at a distance and so that orientation data (and possibly other sensor data) can be sent down to a ground station by radio while the rocket is still in flight. More points for teams able to control roll and hold orientation effectively. More (bonus) points for teams able to send commands and data through their communications system quickly and reliably.
Logistical questions may be directed to James
Flaten, MN Space Grant, U of MN, flate001@umn.edu.
Technical questions may be directed to Gary Stroick,
Tripoli MN, president@offwegorocketry.com.
INDUSTRY SPONSORS:
