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Longhorn Rocketry Association 2019

$4,000
100%
Raised toward our $4,000 Goal
40 Donors
Project has ended
Project ended on April 19, at 09:00 AM CDT
Project Owners

Longhorn Rocketry Association 2019

Who We Are

 

At our very essence, we are a student-run organization which allows aspiring college students at The University of Texas at Austin to build high-power rockets. The club gives hands-on experience to the aspiring rocket enthusiasts who crave more than just theory behind rocket launching taught in class. We have a lot of undergraduate students ready to get their hands dirty with making rockets, whether it be for the Certification Team, NASA SLI Competition, or the Spaceport America Cup!

 

Our Projects

 

For newcomers to the field of rocketry, we have the Certification Team, where each semester a group of 10 to 12 students are placed under mentors to build their very own rocket. Launching and recovering their rocket successfully provides a Level 1 Certification with the Tripoli Rocketry Association and motivates them to continue on to get Level 2 certification! This introductory experience requires a lot of materials though, and a good amount of money to fund.

 

An exciting and new event we are participating in this year is the NASA Student Launch Initiative competition, which has one of the most dedicated and passionate team of students in rocketry. The challenge, which is to deploy a UAV once the rocket has landed requires a huge amount of research and testing. This project requires a lot of materials for construction, testing, and redesigning the rocket.

 

One of our main focuses is the Spaceport America Cup, an annual intercollegiate high-power rocketry competition. We are always innovating and coming up with creative new ideas for systems in our rocket. For this year, we are planning on using our very own hybrid engine, Taurus! It is currently in development and testing and will be a huge leap for the club. We also use this opportunity as a chance to help conduct some research. For example, last year we sent up an artificial working model of human veins and blood in order to learn more about the effect of high G-forces on blood pooling. This year, our competition rocket will launch to 10,000 ft with the most advanced technology we have created. The payload will investigate the stress of high g-force flight on the human brain, which will help us better understand the impact of space flight on astronauts. 

 

Last year, we placed 8th in the 10k COTS division and 9th overall in the 2018 Spaceport America Cup. In the US, we were the 5th highest scoring team!

This victory only motivates us to work harder to do better at this year’s competition, and for that we need your help!

 

We are committed to having the best year yet, and for this, we are raising $4000 to help fund materials, housing, transportation, and costs of research and development. A simple donation can go a long way as we gear up for competition!

 

With all of the excitement generated from large companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, the rocketry industry has literally blown up! This means it is crucial for students to get experience before they enter the industry, and that is ultimately what our club aims to provide. Building rockets is expensive, and any donation will be greatly appreciated and put toward helping the students in our club succeed!

 

Please consider donating to help support the Longhorn Rocketry Association! With your help, we will be able to focus on teaching aspiring rocket scientists and winning at competitions!

 

 

 

Levels
Choose a giving level

$10

T-minus

In preparation for launch, this contribution will go towards food, housing, and transportation for our team. The Spaceport America Cup is a long drive: from Austin, TX to Las Cruces, NM and any money will help us go to great lengths!

$30

Liftoff

We make our rockets essentially from scratch! This donation will help in getting materials for our Certification Team, who can use that to launch their very own personal rocket! You will also receive a shout-out on our social media platforms!

$100

Powered Ascent

Our NASA SLI team is the most passionate group of students we have! Materials are unfortunately running low, and any donations will go towards getting more and speeding up the build! You will get a thank you note from one of our team members!

$200

Peak Altitude

We have a lot of unique ideas we wish we could look more into and work on. This donation will go to the R&D team members for creation and testing of new designs that will be implemented into our SAC rocket. You will get a shoutout in our thank you video!

$500

Parachute Deployment

Our Spaceport America Cup success last year only motivated us to do better this time around! Any gifts will go towards building and testing of our rocket. You will be invited to a Certification launch to see our students get certified!

$1,000

Recovery

We are currently testing our very own hybrid engine, Taurus! Your gift will go towards costs of testing and development of Taurus, which we plan on using at this years SAC competition. You will get an invitation to get a tour of our engine stand!

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