At Intro to Rocketry, we introduced our rocket rookies to the process of designing, building, and launching rockets. It was an exercise in educating and sharing the club’s knowledge from over the years. After presenting a few of our past successful rockets, we introduced the first years to Open Rocket where they designed their own rockets and created bills of materials. Each of the four teams created their own Open Rocket design. In addition to learning how to build a super cool rocket, the team with the highest flying rocket would win the Intro to Rockets competition.
Rocket Construction
After learning to use the tools in the lab and constructing the rockets, a launch was scheduled at Amesbury, MA.
Launch Field in Amesbury, MA
Three out of the four rockets were safe to fly and were successfully launched. As a part of the learning process, one team learned that when the fins are too small, the safety officials at the field will not permit it to launch. The winner of the Intro to Rockets competition reached an altitude of 1,900 feet. In second placed team had an altitude of 1,623 feet.
Take Off!
Caroline Mueller (COE ’19) Harry Brodsky (COE ’19) Jiaying Su (COE ’19) Success!
Prepare for Launch!
Launch from a Distance
Official Altitude Reading
Harry Brodsky (COE ’19) Jiaying Su (COE ’19) Jon Malsan (COS ’16) Caroline Mueller (COE ’19) At the Launch Rail
Overall, Intro to Rocketry was a huge success. The rocket rookies gained great experience and are looking forward to learning even more about the rocket building process in our upcoming projects.