This is an exciting week for SOAR! Both the Large Dangerous Rocket Ships (LDRS) and NASA Student Launch (NSL) teams are all hands on deck, working on last minute preparations for both events in just a couple of days! Many hundreds of hours have gone into both of these projects, so it’s amazing to finally see them come to fruition.
The NSL team had their rocket (Apis I) painted as gift from Jim’s Body Shop in a beautiful bright green, white, and metallic gold (USF’s colors) scheme, while the computer science, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering specialists worked on final updates to the navigation and vision software as well as assembling the landing module itself. The rocket was even featured on Tampa’s FOX 13 News, and it looks amazing. This rocket will be launching at Bragg Farm in Toney, AL on Saturday, April 8th. More information for spectators and interested parties can be found here, and a remote live stream can be accessed here on launch day.
The LDRS team also placed the finishing touches on their two-stage rocket (Taurus I), installing a camera and painting it in-house using professional airbrushing techniques. This 24′ tall rocket will launching at Higgs Farm in Price, MD, sometime during the weekend of April 6th – 9th. More info on this event can be found here.
Finally, be sure to subscribe to @USFSOAR and @StudentLaunch on Instagram and Twitter for the latest up-to-the-minute updates as it happens.
Stay tuned for updates, photos, and videos to follow after this week! As always, recent photos up to now are attached below:
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- The first stage (just half!) of the LDRS rocket, Taurus 1.
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- The NSL rocket, Apis I, after painting.
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- Mockup of the NSL rocket design (current name is Apis I instead).
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- The CSCE and ME teams work on the landing module at the DFX lab on campus.