The NASA University Student Launch Initiative (NSL, or USLI) is an annual rocketry competition that takes place in Huntsville, Alabama. The competition challenges student groups not only to innovate in engineering, but also to share that passion for the STEM fields with younger students through educational outreach activities.
In the 2017 event, SOAR developed a rocket that could identify targets on the ground using a camera system and onboard computer, and then perform a controlled upright landing. The rocket launched Alabama on April 8th.
For general information on this competition, see the NASA Student Launch website.
DOCUMENTS (Recent First)
- Post Launch Assessment Review Report (PLAR) (PDF, 197 KB)
- Landing Module Navigation Code (GitHub)
- Landing Module Vision Processing Code (GitHub)
- Flight Readiness Review Report (FRR) (PDF, 3.67 MB)
- Includes details for each module and section of the rocket, electronics, vehicle and landing module criteria, safety, budget, funding, and timeline.
- FRR Presentation Slides (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Presentation slides for the FRR conference with NASA.
- FRR Flysheet (PDF, 45.2 KB)
- Vehicle, motor, and parachute properties and data.
- Critical Design Review Report (CDR) (PDF, 2.5 MB)
- Preliminary Design Review Report (PDR) (PDF, 1.77 MB)
- Project Proposal (PDF, 325 KB)
- Includes initial information on team structure & leadership, resources (location, hardware, software, people), safety (contingencies, legal issues, transportation of rocket engine, etc), projected design plans, outreach, budget, and timeline.
UPDATES
Launch Day!
Both the NASA Student Launch and LDRS rockets are scheduled to launch tomorrow (Saturday, April 8th)! The NSL team will […] This week at SOAR -- getting ready for competition!
This is an exciting week for SOAR! Both the Large Dangerous Rocket Ships (LDRS) and NASA Student Launch (NSL) teams […] Final Launch Day (Before Competition)
On Saturday, March 18th, the NSL team successfully completed the final test launch prior to the competition launch on Saturday, […] Flight Readiness Review Report
This is just a heads up that we have published our final report before the actual NASA Student Launch in […]Full-Scale Launch Day
On Saturday, February 20, 2017, the NSL team completed their first full-scale test launch for the 2016-17 season! After a […] February Build Days
SOAR has held two build days so far in February, on the 4th and the 11th. During these workdays extensive […] 2nd January Build Day
On Sunday, January 29th, SOAR held a general build day for all projects at our workshop space. Progress was made […] General Body Meeting
Our general body meeting last week, on January 5th, had a great turnout! SOAR members were updated on new policies, […] January Build Day & Update
On Sunday, January 15th, SOAR held a general build day for the NSL and FSGC Hybrid projects. NASA Student Launch […] December Build Days
On December 3rd, December 10th, and December 18th, SOAR held its first major build days for the NSL 2017 project […] Subscale Launch Day
On December 17th, SOAR participated in the Tripoli Rocket Association Launch Day at Varn Ranch. The primary goal was to […] 2nd Prototyping Meeting
The NSL Prototyping team held their second meeting this Sunday, November 20th at the Design For X lab. The primary […] 1st Prototyping Meeting
On Sunday, November 13th, SOAR held its first prototyping meeting for NSL 2017 in the Design For X lab on […] 2nd Mechanical Engineering Design Meeting
On October 18th, the NSL Mechanical Engineering team met in the conference room to revise mechanical engineering plans prior to […] 1st Mechanical Engineering Design Meeting
On September 20th, the mechanical engineering team for NSL met in USF’s Design for X Labs to discuss the fundamental […] SOAR Submits Proposal for NASA Student Launch 2016 - 2017
On September 29th, SOAR submitted the proposal for 2016 – 2017 NASA Student Launch Initiative (NSL). After several discussion among […]