Category: Friday

Friday’s Launch, an Ode to Rough Beginnings for Launch Day 1 at WSMR, Rockets 2019

Today was the perfect example of rough beginnings and a reminder that these are experimental vehicles, no matter how well the research, planning, development and projections are done.

Launches were to commence at 10:00 this morning. Union Grove High School was first up on the rail, but a leak was detected and they were bumped in order to fix the issue and keep the launches running as close to schedule as possible.

Next on the rail was Alamo Heights High School. There were several holds and the launch was delayed until after 11:22. The rocket was having an issue getting completely fueled which was slowing the launch.

Also Someone moved the cones at one of the barricades where the roads were shut down for the launch and proceeded to drive through. WSMR officials had to go secure the barricades and clear that section of the projected area again. This also delayed the launch.

During the delays, WSMR officials welcomed the parents and did a mini briefing for them in the Range Control auditorium, in lieu of the usual T-1 Briefing. During this time Alamo Heights students also gave their Student Rocket Presentations encompassing the details about and expectations of their vehicles.

Around 11:30 the decision was made that the rocket was as full as it was going to be able to achieve and therefore it was time to launch.

Before the launch I spoke with several of Alamo Heights students. According to them the vehicles name is Rocket with the R backwards like a Russian R. It is 20′ long with a diameter of 10″, weighing in at just over 600 lbs fully fueled. The payload was a Yeti cup with a Petri dish of penicillin and mold from a wallet. They intended to study the effects of radiation on both to see how it effected growth of the mold and if the penicillin became more potent.

Their recovery system was a mortar barrel system with 3 charges with a reefing system. The first charge released the nose cone, the second knocks the piston out of the barrel, deploying the third that releases the reefing lines. The vehicle also had a 3D printed nozzle which threaded into the  fuel grain which was poured directly into the tube with threading at each end to hold it in.

The vehicles projected height was 56,000′. Unfortunately it did not achieve that today. Instead it ignited and traveled up about 20′ above the rail, turned on its side and crashed to the ground just behind the two launch trailers, where it continued to burn until the engine and fuel grain completely burned out.

This made the area unapproachable for quite some time, until all flames could be put out and the rocket cooled enough to be safe to move and asses damages in the area. Unfortunately, this caused the cancellation of all other launches for the day.

SystemsGo and WSMR personnel stayed at the site to clean up, and assess and repair equipment in order to continue launches tomorrow.

There will be many things for students to evaluate and learn as to why this incident occurred, and how to prevent it in the future. SystemsGo may have some suggestions and evaluations of their own.

Currently the rocket has been recovered and SystemsGo is at the range replacing hydraulic lines on the launch trailer that were melted and working to get the switching running again.

Tomorrow will be another 10:00 am launch start. This will mean that personnel going to WC50 will be leaving for the range at 6:00 am.

Those going to watch the launches from Range Control will be heading out at 8:00 a.m. to meet our rep in the gravel lot outside the main gate by 9:00 a.m.

Tomorrow’s launch schedule is as follows:

  • 10:00 a.m. Union Grove High School
  • 12:00 a.m. Anahuac High School
  • 14:00 p.m. Marble Falls High School
  • 16:00 p.m. Brazoswood High School

If it is a perfect day and all goes well with no exceptions with each launch, then only Fredericksburg High School’s and Booker T Washington High School’s two rockets would be left for Sunday.

Realistically, this is a very tight launch sequence with little to no room for errors. As we saw today, errors can and do occasionally happen and can cause severe delays in the launch schedule and hinder time availability.

If we do not get all four launches tomorrow, then they will carry over into Sunday time slots as allowed by WSMR.

Sunday is a contingency day if needed in which four more vehicles could launch, otherwise we will travel home that day.

Best of luck to all schools so that they may have a successful launches tomorrow.

Event details will continue to be available here. I will provide more information each morning as to how the schedule and other event details will progress for that day and how launches went for the schools testing that day. Pictures are not allowed on the range, but some pictures of teams getting ready to leave for the range with their vehicles might be available. If anything is available I will post it for your viewing pleasure.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org. Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

SystemsGo’s Rockets 2018 Officially Ended Sunday as the Team Traveled Home and Transitioned into 2019 Preps

At 8:00 a.m.  Sunday morning, the SystemsGo team traveled home from White Sands Missile Range, arriving safely in Fredericksburg around 7:00 p.m. The FHS students and teachers followed arriving shortly after.

WSMR concludes another successful year of launches that begain with Jal, NM, Houston, and Willow City. The group helped test 140 Tchaikovsky and Oberth rockets and 6 Goddard level rockets for the Rockets 2018 season.

Now the volunteer staff returns to their daily lives and the SystemsGo team transitions into a season of program updates before new training begins with more schools, teachers, students and rockets. It won’t be long and the “launch season” will be back again with Rockets 2019. Next year’s season will begin again in the spring with launches in Jal, New Mexico, Houston (Anahua), Fredericksburg, and White Sands Missile Range. It should prove to be another exciting year.

There will be some changes next year as they are looking at relocating their Fredericksburg Rocket launches to a new location in Gillespie county, which will be announced at a later date.

That concludes the 2018 WSMR Rocket updates.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Saturday,Rockets 2018-Final Day at WSMR

SystemsGo scheduled three tests today at White Sands Missile Range, Booker T. Washington, Alamo Heights, and Anahuac. After these three launches, Union Grove would have the opportunity to have a second attempt at launch after fixing the malfunction from Friday’s launch.

Booker T. Washington’s rocket was the first test. Students had loaded the rocket onto the rail before leaving West Center 50 Range at mission completion last evening. The schedule had the school’s T time set for 8:00 a.m. It’s actual T time ended up being at 9:12 after two holds caused by issues with wiring on the rocket which caused the vehicle to have to be vented,  brought down, fixed and reloaded. Unfortunately, the rocket never left the rail. At ignition, the rocket only smoked,  ending in a misfire. Due to the misfire, a 30 minute wait time had to be observed for safety until it could be removed. Following the 30 minute wait, the vehicle was the vented and removed from the rail. It is believed that the injection system did not open.

Alamo Heights  was next on the rail. The schedule was now two hours behind. They loaded without incident and observed a T time of 11:57. It achieved ignition and lifted off the rail. It was a great launch, but turned on its side, continuing on up with an angle headed down range. The rocket reached a peak altitude of 23,083 feet, but due to the launch rail being at a MSL (mean sea level) of 4,521 feet, the final height reached was 18,562 feet. This number is calculated by subtracting the MSL from the peak altitude.

Vehicle velocity was 1503 feet per second. It traveled 26326.323 feet down range which equals 4.986 miles. WSMR reported that the chute did deploy before landing. Alamo Heights’ rocket had the second highest altitude, and also achieved the greatest distance traveled traveled for the weekend. After WSMR recovered the rocket it was determined that only the Drogue chute opened and then melted as the vehicle was still burning. Because of this the rocket had a ballistic re-entry, burying itself in the range. Only the engine casing with fins intact was returned to the team as seen in the picture above. In the picture below, the team is shown with the rocket before launch.

FD40E23B-2318-4A1E-87E2-7A43651DDEDF

Anahuac was next on the rail at 2:09 p.m. They had no lift at ignition, only a partial burn. It also vented the Nitrous through a hole in the injector bay. According to analysis from Anahuac, a hose between the injector and diffuser plate blew a fitting where it attached to the diffuser plate. They are not sure what caused this at this time, but they were able to confirm that the tank and injector were intact. The partial burn created another hang/misfire situation creating another safety delay of 30 minutes before the vehicle could be off loaded from the rail.

By the time this delay was up it was 2:45 and range end time for air space was 3:30. This effectively ended our mission time on the range, called officially by WSMR officials. Due to this, Union Grove was unable to go for a second attempt.

The mission was then called complete. Cleaning and packing up of WC50 began,  as this was the official last day of testing for SystemsGo, students, and WSMR personnel.

Safe travels to all schools heading home, tomorrow. It is back to Texas for the SystemsGo team tomorrow as well. Tonight, the team enjoyed dinner, drinks, conversation and an early bed time.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org .Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited. minute

Friday, Rockets 2018-WSMR Launch Day 1 Report and New Saturday Schedules

Today was an extremely early morning for the SystemsGo team and program participants, Fredericksburg High School, Brazoswood High School, Booker T. Washington, and Anahuac High School. They were all headed  out to the WC50 range, at 5:00 a.m. to test. They had success and were able to left off the rail.

Fredericksburg High School was first to test, leaving the rail at 9:24 a.m. after some minor delays. The vehicle blew the injection port door and a hose blew out of the open hole, but in spite of this, it still achieved a beautiful lift off.  Unfortunately though it acquired height, it was not in the air long enough for either radar or EOD to get a definitive lock on it. They estimated it at somewhere between 2000 and 10000 feet, but were unable to calculate a Real time stat on it. The vehicle suffered an explosion upon return to the range and landed in pieces 200 yards down range to the right of the pad. It was recovered shortly after launch. Congratulations, Fredericksburg on a very nice flight.

Fredericksburg’s rocket team.

 

SystemsGo was able to have Brazoswood loaded on the rail, set for a 12:15 T time. The rocket commenced fill developed a small leak. While the students and teams were evaluating this development, WSMR experienced an emergency down range that affected the airspace SystemsGo uses for launch. The launch was set to hold leaving the filled rocket on the rail to wait. The launch was called to surrender the airspace and launch.  Luckily changes were made to the airspace and the student team decided they were able to fly with the leak. The delay had caused to vehicle to leak out Nitrous bringing it’s fuel level down to less than 50%. The decision was made to test as it was. Their rocket had a unique injection system involving a multiple hose configuration which worked well.

The vehicle achieved lift off at 12:18 in spite of all the delays. The rocket left the rail trailing a large classic flame and literally zoomed into the sky. The flight only had 46 seconds of air time, but it achieved a max altitude of  28,572 with a starting of 4521 feet above sea level, calculating out to an altitude of 24,051 feet at a velocity of 2508 feet per second. It traveled 5562.167 feet equaling 1.053 miles down range. They were able to recover the vehicle, but the narrow section at the top was broken about 6 inches above the tank. At this time they are unable to confirm whether or not any chutes were deployed.

An accompanying Brazoswood parent, Lisa Baker, stated that the “Nose cone went to a location that only God is allowed to go!”

This was their first year to bring a rocket to WSMR, and they achieved quite a launch. I can only imagine what they would have done with a full tank and no leak. They are currently the weekend leaders. Congratulations Brazoswood!

Brazoswood at the T-1 Briefing.

Union Grove was loaded onto the rail next, but unfortunately it suffered a slight malfunction in the injection system that caused the Nitrous to blow out the bottom of the rocket. Fill was stopped and the vehicle was removed for repairs. They will attempt to launch again tomorrow afternoon.

Mission was called complete for the day by WSMR at 2:30 p.m.

Booker T. Washington’s rocket was loaded onto the rail in preparation of the first launch tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s schedule is also an early one as it mirror’s today’s starting schedule.  They are all going out to the range at 5:00 a.m. to prepare for a beginning T of 8:00 a.m. If the schedule holds, and all for tests lift off with out delays, they should be packing up the range by 3:00 p.m. If not a decision will be made at that time as whether the contingency slots on Monday will be used, or the group will call the mission and head home.

The following is the schedule at this time:

Saturday launch order:

8:00 a.m. Booker T. Washington High School
10:00 a.m. Alamo Heights High School
12:00 p.m. Anahuac High School
14:00 p.m. Union Grove High School

Event details will continue to be available here. Information  will be available late tomorrow evening after all tests are complete and the range has been packed up. Pictures are not allowed on the range, but some pictures of teams getting ready to leave for the range with their vehicles might be available. If anything is available I will post it for your viewing pleasure.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org .Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Thursday, Welcome to White Sands Missile Range-T-1 Briefing and WC-50 Set up Day and Friday Schedules

Today was a productive first day at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) for the SystemsGo and the participating schools.

This year the group was invited to begin their engagement at WSMR with the viewing of a live Missile Test. The group watched the test which consisted of three missiles from the Missile Park on White Sands Missile Range at 8:00 a.m.

This viewing meant an early morning for the group rising at 4:00 a.m. in order to have the convoy at the Las Cruces Gate by 6:45 a.m. so that all vehicles could be checked through the gate in time to watch the test. Early mornings are a pretty normal occurance for the time here at WSMR.   Tomorrow will be no exception.

After the Missile Test viewing, the group was lead to the Post Theater. They were officially welcomed to WSMR and participated in the T-1 Briefing, Safety and Security procedures briefing, Public Affairs briefing, as well as other important informational briefings. During this time each school also gave their Student Rocket Presentations encompassing the details about and expectations of their vehicles.It was an educational and informative session.

WSMR personnel made introductions so all involved would know who they are and who to contact for help from the base. Scott Netherland introduced the SystemsGo team and specified their roles with the organization. We finished around 10:30 and headed out to West Center 50 launch site(WC50).

After arrival at WC-50 at around 11:30 a.m., the group worked hard to complete full project equipment set up, after which, they performed a communications check,  field readiness and systems checks, all rockets went through final pressure checks, and simulated launch countdown was enacted.

Fredericksburg’s Rocket was loaded onto the rail and left for first launch tomorrow morning.

The group left the range for the day at 7:00 p.m.

Tomorrow will be another  early morning for all of us. Teams launching and SystemsGo personnel will be headed out to WC50 at 5:00 a.m. to meet WSMR personnel at the Tula gate by 6:00 a.m.

Those going to watch the launches from Mission Control will be heading out at 6:00 a.m. to meet our rep in the gravel lot outside the main gate near Las Cruces, by 7:00 a.m.

Tomorrow’s launch schedule is as follows:

8:00 a.m. Fredericksburg High School
10:00 a.m. Brazoswood High School
12:00 a.m. Booker T. Washington High School                                                                    14:00 a.m. Anahuac High School

If it is a perfect day and all goes well with no exceptions with each launch, then the tests should be complete by 15:00 p.m.

Realistically, this is a very tight launch sequence with little to no room for errors. If we do not get all four launches tomorrow, then they will carry over into Saturday time slots creating up to four  launches on Saturday. Last year SystemsGo was able to hold this schedule. Hopefully tomorrow will go as well.

Sunday is a contingency day if needed in which four more vehicles could launch, otherwise we will travel home that day.

Best of luck to all schools so that they may have a successful launch tomorrow and that all schedules hold true.

Here is the current preview of the launches scheduled for Saturday. Tomorrow’s blog will have a final schedule for the day based on Friday’s test success.

Saturday’s launch order: Union Grove, Alamo Heights, any retests.

Event details will continue to be available here. I will provide more information each morning as to how the schedule and other event details will progress for that day and how launches went for the schools testing that day. Pictures are not allowed on the range, but some pictures of teams getting ready to leave for the range with their vehicles might be available. If anything is available I will post it for your viewing pleasure.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org. Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

June 18-2 More Days Until Goddard Level Rocket Launches- Here’s What’s Happening for WSMR

The SystemsGo team leaves in shifts starting today for New Mexico to launch rockets at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). Rebekah Hyatt and Scott Netherland head out this morning. They have some business meetings in New Mexico ahead of the launch days. Then the rest of the team and schools leave on Wednesday, June 20. That is two days from today. The list and schedules have been finalized and packing is underway.

The schedule will proceed as follows:

Wednesday will be a travel day to Alamogordo, NM to the hotel.
Thursday morning will be T-1 briefing preceded by a live viewing of a missile test at the range.
Thursday afternoon they will travel to West Center 50 Range and do site set up and rocket prep-Fredericksburg rocket will be left on the launch rail ready for first launch on Friday morning.
Friday launch order: Fredericksburg, Brazoswood, Booker T., and Anahuac
Saturday launch order: Union Grove, Alamo Heights
Sunday launch order: Contingency day with four available launch times if needed, or travel home if all vehicles have tested.
Monday will be travel back home day for the group if they are unable to leave on Sunday.

The final list of schools participating in this year’s WSMR tests is:

  • Alamo Heights High School
  • Anahuac High School
  • Brazoswood High School
  • Booker T. Washington High School
  • Fredericksburg High School
  • Union Grove High School

Parents and students already on the approved list with SystemsGo, and attending, be sure you have your proper identification with you. State driver’s license, federal pass port, or state id card are required for access to the base. Also be sure they have medical insurance information with them in case of an emergency.

Please be advised that WSMR is an Army base and does not allow spectators in to view these launches. Only the students, personnel, and parents who have been previously approved through SystemsGo and added to the list may enter the base with the group. Please do not drive to White Sands and attempt to enter on your own, or expect to do so with the group, because you will be turned away.

Event details will continue to be available here. I will provide information as made available to me from team members on site as to how launches have gone for those schools testing on that particular day. Pictures are not allowed on the range, but some pictures of teams getting ready to leave for the range with their vehicles might be available. If anything is available and passed on, I will post it for your viewing pleasure.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org .Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Rockets 2018-Friday, Day 1 For Houston-Recap and Saturday’s Schedule

Today, Friday was the first day of Houston rocket launches. Five schools tested a total of 21 rockets today. The weather was sunny/partly cloudy and windy.

The first launch of the day, was Rocket #85 from Brazosport High School. The vehicle left the rail nicely but soon went into a spiral and came down. The upside is that is was fully recovered so they will be able to analyze their data and determine what happened. Students commented after the launch that they were happy that it did leave the rail. Congratulations Brazosport on your launch and recovery!

The second launch of the day, was by the Aeronautics and Rocket Club of the University of Texas at San Antonio. This is an actual club, not a class at UTSA that students join on their own. The utilize their own time in order to research, develop, draft, design, build, and fund their rocket. The students are all class levels. Today’s Rocket # 87 is a Transonic rocket predicted to surpass at least the first sound barrier. They have a double payload including a video device inside the rocket attached to the altimeter to video activity inside the vehicle during flight, and a GoPro camera mounted to record the flight from the outside as it is traveling. Ironically, the student in the interview said this was to back up the Live feed because sometimes it goes out, at which time it did go out, and I missed the rest of the interview! They had a very impressive launch, unfortunately it flew so well, that it is as of yet unrecovered.

Alpha Search and Rescue is there again this year, heading up the recovery efforts. Erin spoke with Phil and explained how their system works with a real-time mapping, GPS, and azimuth to locate the rockets after launch. Their mapping system allows viewers to follow the progress of the rockets, and know if their vehicle has been recovered and where it was found, or if it is still being actively searched for, or determined to be unrecoverable.

The link for that mapping system is shown on SystemsGo‘s website and listed here. You will be able to follow the progress of the recovery throughout the weekend on it. https://bit.ly/2FRSjVx

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is also available on site again this weekend. Take the time to visit with their rep about the opportunities available for your students.

Well unfortunately I lost my feed after 1700, but according to the search and rescue map all 21 were launched and all but 3 were recovered. That does not mean each was a perfect launch,  but then that is why they are considered test vehicles, and in spite of that they are all considered successful because of the students’ accomplishments in getting them here today to test. All in all it was a good day with fabulous weather, and a great location with good results. And they get to do it all over again Saturday.

Launches will continue all day Saturday, and  Sunday. Saturday’s schedule, posted below, and with a link to it online, boasts six schools and 24 rockets.

The current launch schedule for Friday is shown below and may also be downloaded from SystemsGo website at the following address: http://www.systemsgo.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-Houston-Flight-Schedule-4-17-18.pdf

Saturday, May 12, 2018
School Name / Teacher 1/1 Trans
Brazoswood HS
Dale Hobbs		 3
Channelview HS
Alan Stone		 3
Hardin-Jefferson HS
Mike Fogo		 2 1
Liberty HS
Matthew Williams		 1 1
Northstar HS
Byron Appelt		 1 2
SF Austin HS
Richard Hubbard		 10
Schools Launching             6
Totals 20 4
Total Rockets 24

Please remember that since there is public access to this event, there are registration tickets for order and those may be found on the SystemsGo website as well at this  link:  https://www.greateventseats.com/SystemsGo . They are FREE, but REQUIRED. There is a waiver for admission you will sign along with your admittance ticket. You can get them at the gate but it is strongly advised to do this online ahead of time so that you do not slow yourself or anyone else down getting onto the range. This could cause you and others to miss your intended launches.

I will post each days schedules in this blog. They can also be found in original format on the SystemsGo website Events page.

More event details will be available here after the completion of Friday’s event.

Pictures  will be available here in this blog and in Facebook albums for you to view at the end of each days launches, as well as during the day from Phil and SystemsGo on Facebook as well. Links to both our Facebook pages are below.

https://www.facebook.com/ginger.burow

Unfortunately I only got a few screen grabs, and only one photo from a team member but I will post what I have.

https://www.facebook.com/SystemsGoEducation/

If you follow this program and like to view the launches, Rockets 2018  will have Livestream available at the Smith Point launches so you will be able to view them online at the following address: https://livestream.com/systemsgo.

If you have been to the Houston area launches in the past you may want to check out the SystemsGo website for information because this location is only in its second year for that area. Information and a map link are available.

More event details will be available here in upcoming days as events get closer. Daily reports featuring schedules, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the races, nope, but I will race you for a rocket!  #RideTheSky! #Launcher01 #ItISrocketScience #Rockets2018

I would like to  wish all the schools and students a picture perfect flight and recovery.

 

 

SystemsGo New Mexico Blasts Off Its 2nd Year of Rocket Launches Tomorrow

Hello Rocket Fans, are you ready to #RideTheSky, cheering on your innovative, creative, intelligent students?! Well, tomorrow is the day! Rockets will be headed into the heavens in Jal, New Mexico. This is the second year for the SystemsGo New Mexico group and they are ready and up to the challenge, as they add Transonic vehicles to their launches for the first time at this venue. Last year they only attempted 1 pound/1 mile rockets so it will be another new learning curve for the students and volunteers at the site. No worries though, they have been training for this and the group has it all in hand.

Stage 1 and Stage 2 rocket check ins start at 1:00 today and run through 5:00 p.m. at Jal Elementary School. If your school’s rocket clears stage 2 today, Friday, it must remain at the elementary school overnight. Pick up time starts at 7:00 a.m. for these rockets.

Check out the new welcome sign at the site. That is pretty amazing!

The launch site at Phillips Hill Road will open for Stage 3 for rockets cleared on Friday evening only, at 7:30 a.m.  All others report to the elementary school for Stage 1 and 2 checks and clearing. Do not bring your rocket to the launch site unless it has been cleared at Stage 2.

Please note, schools that were here last year, both the Stage 1 & 2 facility and the launch site are in different places from last year. Be sure you have correct directions and the new map link: http://www.bringonthescience.com

Recovery teams you will have a briefing at the launch site at 7:30 a.m.

General admission to the launch site begins at 8:00 a.m. Rockets are scheduled to begin launching at 8:30 but no sooner. Of course, as I mentioned yesterday, they are subject to wind, weather and workmanship all of which can delay a launch. Better put in the immortal words of Mr. Brett Williams, “A hundred things have to go right for a successful launch, but it only takes one thing going wrong to prevent it.”  With that being said, take a seat, have patience, and just have fun. Be sure to bring some sideline entertainment. Books, cards, dominoes, and games are always good, or you can join in Rocket Trivia with Joyce  Bk Abbey,the voice of rockets, who will be there to MC the event.

An important reminder to the day’s events is that you DO need admittance tickets. You can pre-register for these at the following link: https://www.greateventseats.com/SystemsGo . When you register for these, you are also signing a waiver for entrance to the launch site. These are required to get in. You can obtain them at the gate, but it is discouraged as it slows down entrance for you and anyone behind you to the site and may result in you and anyone behind you missing your intended launch. Pre-registration is preferred.

Concessions will be available for purchase at the launch site.  Portable bathrooms will also be set up. As spectators though, remember your chairs, card tables, umbrellas, sun screen, jackets, blankets, and entertainment for down time between launches.

The current schedule of launches is  shown below and is available here: http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

Saturday, April 21, 2018
School Name / Teacher 1/1 Transonic
Hagerman HS
Andrew Rodriguez		 1
Hobbs HS
Shawna Carter		 5
Jal HS
Nathan Richard		 1 1
Lake Arthur HS
Steve Goluska		 1 1
Loving HS
David Janzen		 2 1
Lovington HS
Michael Dodson		 2 1
New Tech Odessa HS
Richard Lindner		 2
7 Schools Launching
Totals 14 4
Total Rockets 18

Don’t forget, all volunteers, teachers, teams and admins are invited to Jal Country Club for a hamburger and hot dog cook out from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Dave Willden is your gracious host for this event.

Current weather conditions for Saturday show a bit of a warm up.  40 is the predicted low and 71 is the high. That is not too bad for the desert in April. Dress is layers, you may need a light jacket in the morning.

Good luck to the seven schools participating in this year’s New Mexico event. No matter the outcome of your launch, you have successfully designed, built and delivered a rocket to the pad for testing. In doing just that, you have learned more and will take with you more than some achieve in a life time.

Parents and spectators be sure you are ready with the cameras to catch the expressions on your students’ faces for two different events. The first is when their vehicle leaves the pad headed into the sky, and the second is when Recovery hands it back to them after launch and recovery. These are the faces of joy, excitement, and fulfillment  you want to see as much as you do that rocket soaring into the blue.

SystemsGo New Mexico has a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SystemsGoNM/  , and also a twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNM . These are a good source of information.  Joyce Bk Abbey will be manning both and posting pictures and updates throughout the day in leu of Livestream which will not be available at this particular launch this year.

SystemsGo New Mexico is headed up by David Willden.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on these events.

After completion another report will be posted here, featuring results, pictures and some editorial content cataloging the success of the event.

http://www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org. Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches! #ItISRocketScience #RideTheSky #Launcher01

Second Term Update #1 (Dec. 22-Feb. 16)-Fredericksburg’s Engineering/Rocket Program

Technically, the fall term didn’t end until January 19, so we have a minor bit of finishing up to do on that semester, but at this point, January  is past and February is better than half through as well.  The spring program is  already building, therefore, we will finish off and shoot straight into the new semester and the new year, as there are big goals and events  for each class group.

This second semester puts the Engineering Program students’ learning to the test as they build rockets and prepare to launch them for Rockets 2018 and their end of class projects. There are still four class groups this semester as freshman through seniors continue course study and  strive  to complete their section of the program.

Both Freshman and Sophomore groups are new for this semester. Last semester’s groups will not return to the program until next fall. This will mean that the progress reports will seem a bit familiar as these new groups will be doing the same projects and learning tasks that last semester’s group did since they too are at the beginning point of the Freshman and Sophomore programs.

Freshmen comprise a group of 13, pictured below. In the front row: Davis Englert, Roan Hagel, Hayle Mayer, Michael Flores, Gerry Balderas, and Daisuke Kyan.

In the back row: Tyler Smedley, Karson Hager, Cade Terry, Sam O’Leary, Kris Ersch, Travis Klokker, and Carlotta Wilkinson.

 This was for fun, and is freshman doing something wacky!

The new Freshmen group is once again testing structures which they are building from cardboard and tape. They watched an engineering video on I-Beams after their first testing session. This enlightened their understanding of bending moments which they applied to their structures.  One of the groups changed their structure by rotating it 90 degrees in order to make it taller than it was wide, which resulted in the structure being the opposite of its original design as well as creating an almost 100% strength increase through the new orientation and heighth.  Mr. Matthes states that this was a “Lesson learned and applied.”

Below, the Freshmen show off their structures.

 Cade Terry, Travis Klokker,  Sam O’Leary    Hayle Mayer, Tyler Smedley, Daisuke Kyan Karson Hagel, Gerry Balderas, Roan Hager    Michael Flores, Carlotta Wilkinson, Kris Ersch, Davis Englert

Currently they are working on their post mission analysis on civil engineering, which is allowing them to  practice technical writing.

The freshmen have a field trip coming up on March 1. They will be visiting UTSA, Center for the Intrepid and Southwest Research Institute, all in San Antonio. A report and pictures will be presented in a future update.

The new sophomore group for this semester has 13 students,  11 pictured below.

Front row: Gabi Moreno, Manuel Enciso, Jarrett Beard, Tyler Malinak, and Jacob Hinterlach. Back row: Tony Martinez, Noah Stotz, Jowad Aysheh, Jack Fox, Troy Kneese, and Jabin Gipson. Not pictured are Jessen Stableford, and Landon Sparrow.

The sophomores are moving through their course studies on a little more fast-track than last semesters class. This has been initiated in order to further their studies in 3D modeling and printing this round so that they achieve a more significant introduction in that area. They are doing well according to Mr. Matthes and are already beginning AutoCAD. In the past weeks they have successfully completed geometry, multi-view drawings, and engineering lettering.

As of January 23, the first semester studies ended for the Juniors, and opened them up to work on their second semester project in which they are now immersed. This project is to design and develop a one pound payload in a Transonic vehicle to be launched on April 26, at Rockets 2018.  This means that their rocket must must be capable of breaking the speed of sound while carrying a one pound payload and remaining under 13,000 feet. The junior group is a large group of 22 students this year so they are unique in that they have been split into two groups, each responsible for their own rocket.

Mr. Matthes had this comment about the two groups, “I am excited to see them working diligently and proudly taking the endeavor as genuine separate groups.  The ownership of their rocket and being different from each other’s groups is already evident.  They have established their problem statements and are feverishly researching with many, many, many unknowns.  As the process goes on their significant dispersion of knowledge and integration with each other slowly but surely migrates to a fully integrated and cohesive design.”

Along with their rockets, the group has another project for the semester. This entails designing and developing a teststand for Estes Motors. These are the small motors used mostly to fly their Generation 1 through 3 rockets. The objective is to create a teststand that will operate using LabVIEW programming to control and monitor ignition, measure thrust, and display and record real-time data to a file.

Seniors are a busy group with four projects still in the works, including Redbird 19, Wind Tunnel, Teststand and Baby Bird Teststand.

On February 1, Redbird 19(RB19) underwent Critical Design Reviews (CDR) with SystemsGo personnel present, and NASA flight engineers participating by Skype. RB19 did well overall.  The Redbird 17 tank is being recycled as part of  the RB19 design and was successfully tested earlier, as shown below, but will be retested on Friday, Feb.16 after which they will be required to provide documentation to SystemsGo. The team is fully immersed in the development of RB19. They have contracted machine shops and begun providing them work. These include Kager Industries, Heartland Enterprises, and SRM. Other necessary parts are in the order process.

Corbin Smajstrla, Sergio Walle, Bryce Erwin, Pierce Vasquez, Evan Knapp, and Harrison Spisak prepare to test the RB17/19 tank.

Wind Tunnel also underwent CDRs  with NASA and SystemsGo on February 1. Unfortunately it was found to have some issues to resolve. According to Mr. Matthes, the group is, “adapting well to the unexpected queries which arose and are close to having them resolved at this point. ”

Teststand has several upcoming events in March. In mid March, they will be conducting cold flow tests in order to verify the students injection system. This tests the flow rate of oxidizer through the system.  Projected live ignition tests have been set for the end of March, and students have been given some solid dates in order to keep them on task to accomplish these.

Baby Bird Teststand is currently on hold. Students have a heavy work load to complete with the other projects. PVC and polypropylene tests will need to be completed on the large Teststand before work can resume on the Baby Bird Teststand.

This article is the Third for the 2017/2018 school year in a series of monthly updates that will follow the Fredericksburg Engineering/Rocket program. This school is a participant of the SystemsGo STEM program. This series of articles is intended to support and encourage students in the program as they share their working status and accomplishments throughout the year in the program. These publications will be available for tags and re-posting.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Fredericksburg Engineering Program Hosts the N.E.W.Y.O.U. Event for 4th through 8th Grade Students

The Fredericksburg Engineering Program will be hosting the N.E.W.Y.O.U (National Engineers Week Youth Outreach United) Event in participation with FISD Community Education. National Engineers Week will begin February 18th. The N.E.W.Y.O.U Event will be held the Saturday before on February 17th.
The event will be held at the Fredericksburg Middle School. This is the first time the FHS Engineering Program will host this event. The high school group has been working hard organizing this event in order to insure it will be a fun and educational time for all participants.
Join the FHS student mentors as they introduce you and your friends to engineering in fun group setting. You will learn while watching videos, playing games, completing challenges and winning prizes, including a door prize for each session.
Forth and fifth graders will attend the morning session, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The cost for this session is $29 and includes snacks, drinks and a shirt.
Sixth through eighth graders will attend the afternoon/evening session from 1:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The cost for this session is $49 and includes, snacks, drinks, dinner and a shirt.
***Please note that in order to receive your shirt, you must be registered by Feb. 13.

Look for more information in the newspaper and students of those grades should have brought home flyers in the past week. Look below for a copy of that flyer in case you missed it.

The Fredericksburg Engineering/Rocket Program hopes to see you there.

FLYER:

4th-5th and 6th-8th Graders!!!

Come hang out with high school engineering students while having fun playing games, completing challenges in groups with high school mentors, watching cool videos and learning about engineering.  Prizes abound with an awesome door prize for each session.  See details below!  Downloadable registration form may be found at the bottom or call Community Education at (830)997-7182.

New You Flyer JPEG.JPG