For general information on this competition, including dates, locations, and requirements, see the NASA FSGC Hybrid Rocket Competition website.
The objective of the competition was to build and launch a hybrid powered rocket. There are two categories of competition to choose from. The first category consists of launching a hybrid rocket to the maximum altitude. The second category challenges the teams to fly their rocket closest to 2,000 feet in altitude. We as an organization have chosen to do both! Building of these rockets will begin as soon as possible. If you are interested in hybrid rockets, which incorporate two separate mediums, an oxidizer and a solid propellant, then contact us today!
UPDATES
2nd January Build Day
On Sunday, January 29th, SOAR held a general build day for all projects at our workshop space. Progress was made on all three of our main projects — NSL, LDRS, and FSGC. NASA Student Launch The NSL rocketry team worked on test-fitting components and tweaking rocket layout. They also began the process of epoxying the fillets for the fins, which will take a total of three build days. The computer science and electrical engineering teams worked on tweaking the code for the landing module, getting it to use rotors to face towards a specific compass heading and lock onto that General Body Meeting
Our general body meeting last week, on January 5th, had a great turnout! SOAR members were updated on new policies, current project statuses (see the individual project pages for more info), and upcoming events. New project leaders were introduced and the beginning of the appointment process for next year’s main leadership positions was announced. Afterwards, the NSL computer science team went to the DFX Lab to work on the code for the landing module in preparation for the January 29th build day. January Build Day & Update
On Sunday, January 15th, SOAR held a general build day for the NSL and FSGC Hybrid projects. NASA Student Launch Since the last build days, the NSL team has been busy working on the Critical Design Review Report, a 120-page document detailing our plans and data. This can be retrieved from the NSL page on our website. The NSL team continued to work on the full-scale rocket and its programming. NASA FSGC Hybrid Competition The hybrid team began the assembling their rocket, building the motor mount and epoxying it in place with two of three fins. Hybrid Rocket in the Planning Stages
There are two competitions that USF SOAR will be participating in at NASA’s FSGC Hybrid Rocket Competition: Launch a rocket to maximum altitude Launch a rocket to as close as 2,000 feet For rocket closest to 2,000 feet, the previous rocket used in the competition will be used and improved as it placed well the last competition it was used in. For the maximum altitude, a new rocket will be built. This rocket will be light weight, with a bigger diameter, of 2.14” a motor mount for more sturdy fins and a light weight altimeter bay. The rocket will be longer to compensate