Collegiate Rocket Competition

Informational Telecon: October 3, 2022 @ 6:00 pm (Zoom)
Notice of Intent to Compete Due: October 21, 2022
Selection Announcement: October 28, 2022
Kick-off Meeting Online: November 3, 2022 @ 6:00 pm (Zoom)
Safety Review Meeting: March 25, 2023 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
@ Fox Valley Technical College
Oral Presentation at Carthage College: April 28, 2023 @ 6:00 pm
Launch Competition: April 29, 2023 @ 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Launch 2 Learn Rocket Certification Workshop: November 4-5, 2022
Applications Due: October 21, 2022

“Deploy Lander and Capture Panoramic Image of Landing Site”
@ Richard Bong Recreational Park

Collegiate Rocket Launch Zoom Meetings: https://carthage-edu.zoom.us/j/92786761125
A calendar of events fully detailing program due dates is included in the competition handbook.

Team Challenge Awards (based on availability of funds):

Mission Grand Champion: $3000* and VIP Tour at Sierra Space in North Freedom, WI
2nd Place: $2000
3rd Place: $1000
Team Funding: up to $1,000 rocket supplies, equipment, flight competition motor,
flight data recorder, travel.
Travel Funding: based upon round trip travel to and from competition (see chart below)

*Awarded to highest scoring team that successfully completes the mission and all aspects of the competition.

The Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium’s (WSGC) Collegiate Rocket Competition is intended to supply teams of affiliated university students with the opportunity to demonstrate engineering and design skills through direct application. It allows the teams to conceive, design, fabricate and compete with high powered rockets. The restrictions on rocket motors and dimensions are limited so that knowledge, creativity and imagination of the students are challenged. The end result is a great aerospace experience for students that would not otherwise be available in the region.

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

COMPETITION ENGINEERING PARAMETERS:

Student teams will be required to design, construct, and fly a high-power, one-stage rocket that, following apogee, will be recovered safely and in flyable condition, predict the rocket’s flight performance, collect down-looking on-board video and deploy a separate lander recovered via parachute that will come to rest on a deployable structure then capture a 360-degree panoramic image of its landing site. The avionic system of the lander must be controllable while on the launch pad via a wired remote with a magnetic-breakaway connector. Additional rocket parameters include the use of a rocket motor from a specified list, and dual-deploy, electronic recovery with motor-charge backup. The rocket is required to use the electronic deployment of the recovery parachute and must include motor deployment as a backup. A downed rocket location aid must be included. All structural components and materials for the rocket must be obtained from reputable high-powered rocketry vendors or an engineering analysis demonstrating their suitability must be included with the design. The winner of the flight portion of the competition will be the team whose rocket completes a safe, successful flight with a combination of the best apogee as well as the accuracy of their predicted apogee.

The competition will include a series of written reports about the design, analysis, simulation, build, and test flight results of the rocket, an oral presentation, plus an assessment of competition flight data results. A panel of professionals will score these from both academia and industry. Scoring of the pre-competition reports and the post-flight report will focus on the system design and its performance. More details about the competition motor, reports, deadlines, etc. are available in the competition handbook.

Equipment/Reimbursable funds provided by WSGC:

The faculty advisor must first register with WSGC before students/team members register. One exception to the order of registration exists. If the student team lead has never registered with WSGC, he/she must register before the advisor begins the Notice of Intent (NOI).

A faculty advisor must complete the following steps:

• REGISTER as faculty on the WSGC website (https://spacegrant.carthage.edu/about/login/). Applicants will be prompted to update personal information annually.
• Complete and submit the “Rocket Launch Team (Create NOI)” Grant APPLICATION form (https://spacegrant.carthage.edu/forms/account/login/?next=/forms/application/first-nations-rocket-competition/).
• The following information/documents will be submitted during this step:
  • Other WSGC funding received
  • Team Name
  • Co-Advisor (if applicable)
  • Student Team Lead
  • Grants Officer (if applicable)
  • Industry, Tripoli, National Rocketry Association Mentor Name and Email
  • Competition (Collegiate)
  • Team Members List

Once the faculty advisor completes the Notice of Intent (NOI), identifies the team name, lists the co-advisor (if applicable), team lead and student participants, and chooses which competition the team will compete in, each team member (including a co-advisor) will need to:

• REGISTER as an undergraduate student on the WSGC website (https://spacegrant.carthage.edu/about/login/). Applicants will be prompted to update personal information annually (if previously registered).
• Sign in, complete and submit the Collegiate Rocket Competition APPLICATION form (https://wsgc.carthage.edu/apps/application/collegiate-rocket-competition/).
• Upload current resume to applicant profile (optional). Applicants must check the box in order to allow WSGC to share the applicant resume with Wisconsin Aerospace Industry partners for co-op, internship, and employment opportunities.
• Submit the following information/documents during this step.
  • Other WSGC funding received
  • Team Name submitted by the Faculty Advisor
  • Resume (optional – Applicants must check the box in order to allow WSGC to share the applicant resume with Wisconsin Aerospace Industry partners for co-op, internship, and employment opportunities.)
  • Prior Rocket Experience
  • Media Release
  • Individual W9

Team/Individual applicants who meet the following requirements can apply for this grant by registering and applying online at spacegrant.carthage.edu/about/login:

• be US citizens
• attend any WSGC Academic Affiliate Institution full-time
• have a committed faculty mentor
• have a committed Industry, Tripoli, and/or National Association of Rocketry mentor
• be comprised of 4-6 team members
• select a team leader

Individuals/teams may:

• compete without experience (Teams will be given the basic training and information required).
• seek membership and Level I, II, and/or III through Tripoli and/or the National Association of Rocketry

*Note from Tripoli: Without exception, university teams must involve an experienced mentor, preferably a TAP or L3CC, during the design and construction phases of their rocketry projects if they expect to fly them at Tripoli events. The mentor must be certified at or above the level of motor the team wishes to fly AND experienced in the type of construction, propulsion, and recovery the team uses.

Groups of students wishing to be paired up with like-minded students at other affiliate institutions should contact the WSGC Institutional Representative for their campus. Members of groups underrepresented in aerospace disciplines are particularly encouraged to participate.

*Individual students cannot participate in more than four WI Collegiate Rocket Competitions.

See a list of current and past award recipients

As part of the award acceptance, 1 ^st -3 ^rd place awardees will be asked to attend and present at the Annual Wisconsin Space Conference as outlined in the award agreement and all participants will submit the following documents on the WSGC application website under Program Applications/Your Applications:

All Advisors/Participants

• Award Agreement Letter
• Media Release Form
• One-Paragraph Biography
• Professional Photo

All Team Members

• Attend the Online Kick-off Meeting
• Attend the Online Design Review Meetings
• Attend the Safety Review Meeting
• Oral Design Presentation
• Launch Competition
• Submit Student Stories

Team Lead

• Preliminary Design Review Report
• RockSim model file of Preliminary Design
• Preliminary Budget
• Demo Flight
• Critical Design Review Report
• Final Team Roster
• Flight Readiness Review Report
• Education Outreach Form
• Post Flight Performance Report
• 2-3 Project Photos Featuring Team Members

Winning Teams

• Present project at the 33rd Annual Wisconsin Space Conference
• Submit a proceedings paper for the 33rd Annual Wisconsin Space Conference online journal
• Individual W9