The KSU Rocket Club, one of Kennesaw State’s newest student organizations, is an exciting group with very high expectations. They are not quite a year old, but the KSU Rocket Club is looking to build their organization into a world-record breaking, rocket building competition team. The club is open to students of any major who are interested in learning about the design and construction of rocket payloads. Currently the team is focused on getting more space enthusiasts involved and building up the club for future generations.
There are many uses for rockets with various ranges and payload capabilities, like sending up satellites or maybe one day a manned mission to Mars. This summer, the KSU Rocket Club will be participating in the IREC Rocket Competition hosted by ESRA. ESRA, or the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association, invites students from all over the world to participate. The rockets will need to reach an altitude between 10,000 and 23,000 feet above ground level using various chemical propulsion types. For this competition the rocket will need to be four to eight inches in diameter, and eight to 20 feet long.
One competition that the KSU Rocket Club is hoping to participate in is the CanSat competition hosted by the American Astronautical Society (AAS) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). CanSat provides the basic rocket and then students are responsible for the design and construction of a mock satellite payload to fit inside and that will deploy when it reaches apogee, the highest point of the rocket’s flight.
During flight, students will be hoping to get back readings from the payload on altitude, velocity and atmospheric pressure. The CanSat competition provides students “with the end-to-end life cycle of a complex engineering project, from conceptual design, through integration and test, actual operation of the system and concluding with a post-mission summary and debrief.”
Like other programs that offer students hands-on practice in design and engineering, successful rocket teams have very high employment rates after graduation. And while most members are typically mechanical and electrical engineering majors, students from all disciplines are encouraged to join and learn about the potential for rocket technology.
The KSU Rocket Club, in conjunction with KSU SEDS, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, plans to host several SpaceTalks events for students. SpaceTalks is a Google Hangouts On-air series that offers students the opportunity to learn from and interact with space industry experts as well as their fellow SEDS members.
According to club president Greg Newman, being a part of the KSU Rocket Club is as much fun as it is anything. While you are learning about rocket design, engineering and space flight, students have the opportunity to see what they can accomplish. The club also gives students the opportunity to put into use what they have learned in the classroom in ways that you just can’t do in class.
“Rockets, in their simplest form, are a casing, fuel and guidance,” Newman said. “For successful flight, it is important to design each part thoroughly.” This also means that practical hands-on experience is extremely valuable.
KSU SEDS focuses on space exploration within the context of such fields as rocketry, robotics, biology, astronomy, law, chemistry, business and other interdisciplinary fields. The KSU Rocket Club will also host launch webcasts and other fun events for students.
