In short, we’re looking for a few good people who are interested in
rocketry, preferably with some (but by no means necessary) model
rocket-design experience, to join the current UW team in participating
in the NASA-supported University Student Launch Initiative (USLI). So
far we have a team of 5, and I would like to get at least 4 more. The
MOST IMPORTANT THING is that you’re interested and driven, because the
competition is a good deal of work, but there are prizes in the form
of cash and items for the winners.
This is an AMAZING opportunity, and I hope that some of you will like
to join us as we move forward. I would love to see some upper-level
engineering majors if possible, electrical, aeronautical, mechanical,
whatever, but if you like rockets or think you’ve ever wanted to work
on one, this is a great way to start out.
What differentiates USLI from other rocketry competition is that not
only must we design and build a reasonably large model rocket, likely
10 feet long and up to 6 inches in diameter, but we must do so while
also designing, constructing, and operating successfully a useful
payload. Historical examples of science payloads the study of noble
gas separation in microgravity, the study of crystallization during
the cooling of molten sodium in microgravity, testing home-build
accelerometers, active air-braking systems, and others. While these
are the more difficult and involved projects, we will likely aim high.
In addition, we will write 4 papers over the course of the year until
April 2011 when we will, as a team, fly to Huntsville, Alabama to fly
our rockets with other university-level teams.
We want our final team decided by September 1st, so I have to ask that
you let me know ASAP if you’re interested, and I’d be happy to talk
with you if you’d like more details. Feel free to forward this to
anyone you think might be interested!
Thanks so much for your time,
Julian Picard
jpicard@uw.edu
