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4th IREC (2009: Arizona State, BYU, California State University-Long Beach, Seattle Central Community College, University of Washington)
- 1st Place: California State University-Long Beach
- 2nd Place: University of Washington
- Furfaro Award for Technical Excellence: University of Washington
Guest of Honor: Charley Hoult
3rd IREC (2008: Arizona State, BYU, Univ of Missouri-Columbia, UC-Irvine, UCLA)
- 1st Place: UCLA
- 2nd Place: Arizona State University (ASU)
- Furfaro Award for Technical Excellence: Arizona State University
Guest of Honor: Jim Barrowman, NASA (retired)
Copies of the teams' technical papers and presentations are available here.
Pictures are posted here.
UCLA's rocket had a near-flawless flight, reaching an altitude of 8100 ft AGL, and recovering near the launch site. It was the simplest design, in the opinion of the judges.
Here is a short YouTube video of its flight:
ASU's rocket was an ambitious two-stage design. It staged successfully, but the recovery system on the second stage failed and it impacted the ground at high speed. The altimeter was damaged so that peak altitude data could not be produced in time for the judges. The first stage (which recovered successfully) also had an altimeter, which recorded an altitude of 3100 ft AGL. The payload was a roll-control system for the upper stage.
Missouri-Columbia's rocket lost fins during ascent and reached an altitude of 4500 ft AGL. It had a hard recovery, though most of the rocket was still in flyable condition.
UC-Irvine's rocket had a flawless flight and recovery, but landed more than a mile downrange. Unfortunately, the team could not find it until after the competition was over and they lost points for peak altitude and recovery in flyable condition. Once they found the rocket (the Saturday after the competition), it was in perfect condition and the altimeter reported a peak altitude of 10,090 ft AGL! ESRA is working with the Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club to provide radio tracking services for the 4th IREC in 2009 to hopefully avoid this problem again.
Here is an on-board video from YouTube of the UCI flight:
BYU's rocket pinched a power wire while being loaded onto the launch rail, and its batteries overheated and were ruined. They were unable to launch.
Here is a YouTube video with all the launches (produced by the UCLA team):
2nd IREC (2007: Arizona State, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Utah State)
- 1st Place: Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE)
- 2nd Place: Arizona State University (ASU)
- Furfaro Award for Technical Excellence: Arizona State University
Guest of Honor: Dr. Neal Baker, Alaska Space Grant Consortium
MSOE's rocket had a flawless flight and recovery. It used mostly commercial components and propulsion. It reached a peak altitude of 10,900 ft AGL. Its payload was a GPS module which tracked the entire flight and also transmitted its location to aid in ground recovery. The payload also included a steel cylinder to reach the 10-lb payload weight requirement.
ASU's rocket used a student-designed and -built solid rocket motor. It flew well but only reached an altitude of approximately 6000 ft AGL. Its payload was a flying wing that was designed to be ejected, unfold, and fly down under remote control. It deployed but its batteries failed so it flew down in a spiral without active control. The rocket recovery system had a partial failure but the rocket was still in flyable condition.
Utah State's rocket used a student-built nitrous oxide/rubber hybrid motor. Its payload was a pitot tube and video camera with telemetry, plus T-shirts to reach the 10-lb payload weight. The rocket left the rail and arced over almost immediately and flew downrange at approximately 2000 ft AGL under power. The recovery system never deployed and the rocket impacted the ground at high speed, totally destroying it. Apparently the main oxidizer valve did not fully open due to a weak battery used to operate its electromechanical actuator.
A summary presentation of the competition is available here.
Pictures are posted here.
Dr. David Livingston of The Space Show conducted an internet radio interview with Brian Van Roy (MSOE team lead), James Villarreal (ASU team lead), and Dr. Paul Mueller (ESRA), which is available here.
The Emery County Progress newspaper has a story on the competition here.
Here is a YouTube video of the launches produced by the MSOE team:
1st IREC (2006, University of Alabama-Huntsville, Utah State)
- 1st Place: Utah State University
- 2nd Place: University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH)
Guest of Honor: Professor Gil Moore (Project Starshine)
Utah State's rocket used a large student-designed and -built nitrous oxide/rubber hybrid motor in a student-built airframe. Its payload was an onboard video camera with telemetry. It launched successfully and reached an altitude of approximately 5700 feet (determined after the competition was over). Parachute deployment occurred several seconds after apogee, and by this time the rocket was falling very fast. The main chute deployed but was ripped from the airframe, and the airframe broke into two parts. The section with the motor and fins impacted at high speed and was destroyed, while the upper section with the avionics impacted at lower speed.
UAH's rocket used a commercial motor in a custom-made airframe. It also contained a video camera as its payload. It flew to 11,200 ft AGL (determined after the competition was over), but suffered partial recovery system failure. The main booster section impacted at high speed but the payload section was only partially damaged.
Since both rockets suffered partial recovery system failures, and neither team was able to produce peak altitude data in time, the judges relied on the written reports, and student knowledge/professionalism to arrive at Utah State as the winner. The Emery County Progress newspaper has a story on the competition here. An article by Sheri Quinn on the Military Connections web site can be found here.
Here is a YouTube video of the USU rocket flight:
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