Category: News

Rockets 2018-Saturday’s Report-End of Fredericksburg Launches

Sunday is usually the last day for rockets at Willow City, but not this year. Today, Saturday is the final day. This is because SystemsGo split the load more evenly between this launch and the upcoming one in Smith Point down in the Houston area. Now both days have 3 days.  Although we only had 7 schools today, there were 22 rockets on the schedule, and all but two launched. Of those last two, Kingwood aborted one of theirs on their own, and SystemsGo had to disqualify one of RL Turners because it did not meet specifications.

We had another day of fairly smooth launches, some were just how you want them with great flight, deployment of chutes and floating down nicely, while others great flights that returned as ballistic lawn darts, and then we had some short crazy flights as well. But all flew and all were recovered.

Recovery did well again this weekend with a 91% return rate for the weekend and 100% for Saturday.

Robert Deaver, SystemsGo team member, board member and past Mission Control staffer has been missing from the launch the last two years,  But today he did drop by for a visit and to watch the action with his new family, seen below.

After all the launches were  complete, the team stayed at Mission Control were they all enjoyed pizza and drinks as well as visiting as a thank you from SystemsGo for another great year. We all watched the sun go down over the launch pad and then called it a night and a good end to another season in Willow City.  It was a sentimental moment as well since this may be our last year here at Hillview Ranch. The program is looking for another launch home for next year.

Here are some photo of the group enjoying our time to relax.

  

This marks the end of another great year of  Fredericksburg Rockets 2018. It was a blast as usual, no pun intended. Rockets 2018 continues May 11-13 at Smith Point down by Anahuac, which is in the Houston area. There are a total of 15 schools and 56 rockets on the schedule. Livestream will be available there again as well.

After Anahuac then there is only the Goddard level launches  in New Mexico left which are coming up in late June. There is a fairly strong date, but I won’t be posting that until closer to time since they can still be subject to change at the Army’s need. I will keep everyone posted on that as information is available. Good luck to all those schools and safe travels when you go  both to Houston and White Sands New Mexico. For more information as usual check their website at www.systemsgo.org .

The following is a link to the album of pictures from Sunday’s launch. Have a look, you and your school rocket just might be in there.

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

Event details will be available here each day of any launch event. Daily reports featuring schedules, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will also be posted.

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 #Rockets2018 #FredericksburgEngineeringRocketProgram #Launcher01 #SystemsGoNewMexico #RideTheSky

Rockets 2018-Friday Day 2 Report and Saturday Schedule

Friday had a slow start for rockets. A combination of  the lack of rocket readiness and a cloudy sky delayed our start until about 11:30 when the first vehicle lifted off. SystemsGo was able to load 24 out of 25 rockets listed on the schedule onto the rails and launched all 24. The 25th was an abort by one of the schools.

The schedule boasted an array of interesting vehicle designs and colors. All 24 left the rail, some with picture perfect flights and a few with rather short flights landing quickly again in the field around the launch  pad. These at least were easy for Recovery to locate and bring in for the students.

A Gifted and Talented class from Fredericksburg Junior High came out to get a tour and view the launches for a while this morning.

Embry Riddle University had a representative there with a booth of information, hoping to encourage students to pursue engineering education through them.

There was one particular rocket with a very different fin configuration today. Unfortunately I cannot remember the rocket’s actual name, but we all nicknamed it the Windmill. It was designed by Marble Falls High school and sported two sets of fins the larger of which gave it the appearance of a windmill fan. We were all quite interested in the launch of this vehicle since we hadn’t seen fins like this before, and were curious as to how they would perform. Below is the vehicle in stage 3.

The next sequence is from their launch. Shortly after lift off the large fins sheared off, raining down around the Pad, but the smaller fins carried the vehicle to a significant height before it nosed over and headed back down. Chute did deploy but the body separated from the chute and landed just inside the fence of the launch field, and the nose cone and chute landed on the ground across the fence about 50 yards. It really wasn’t a bad launch for the unusual rocket.

           Unfortunately I don’t seem to have gotten a picture of the body tube after recovery. It was a fascinating launch, that we were all waiting to see, so I thought I would share it here as well.

That concludes the fun for Friday. Join us at the launch site again tomorrow for more action. Saturday will be our last day this year. There are no Sunday launches.

Below is the launch schedule for tomorrow, Saturday. There are 7 schools launching a total of 22 rockets tomorrow.

School Name / Teacher 1/1 Trans
Akins HS
John Sayce		 3 4
Alamo Heights HS
Colin Lang		 4
Birdville CTAL
Conner Gorman		 3
London HS
Toni Castle		 1
Manor HS
Will Davis		 1 1
Northwest HS
Elizabeth Mitias		 2 1
RL Turner HS
Brian Morrill		 2
Schools Launching                7
Totals 12 10
Total Rockets                22

The following is a link to the album of pictures from today’s launch. Have a look you and your school rocket just might be in there.

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

Good luck to all the schools launching on Saturday. I will update the blog after we complete our day again tomorrow. Here is the link to the live stream again.

http://livestream.com/systemsgo

Please remember that although there is no charge for the event, and these launches are open to public viewing, parking and seating is limited due to safety requirements. For this reason, SystemsGo has a provided a link for you to pre-order tickets for those in your party. This also provides SystemsGo with a way to monitor the number of people in attendance each year. This is in no way meant to discourage your attendance, but is instead to help them provide a great experience for students and spectators, while doing all possible to monitor safety issues and attendance numbers at any one time during the launches.

http://www.systemsgo.org/events/

Event details will be available here each day of the event. Daily reports featuring schedules, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will also be posted.

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 #Rockets2017 #FredericksburgSTEMAcademy #Launcher01 #SystemsGoNewMexico

Fredericksburg’s Engineering/Rocket Program-Rockets 2018 Willow City Launch Week Pre-Launch Update

Today is Wednesday, April 25, and the juniors are a day away from testing their vehicle at Stewart’s Hillview Ranch in Willow City at Rockets 2018. They will be launching on Thursday, but the time will be determined on site. Also, this year the larger class volume meant two teams and two rockets.

According to Mr. Matthes, Engineering Instructor, both teams finished both rockets on time this year. They were due by the end of class, last Thursday. Both teams made use of the after school hours requirement in order to finish, with a couple of students stretching that to midnight in order to complete the work.

As of Monday, both vehicles were described as being in good shape by Mr. Matthes, with the only issue still in play, attempting to lighten the weight in order to increase speed.

Aside from that, Mr. Matthes had this to say about the upcoming launch, ” I do not rubber stamp any rocket.  Failure is an option in the program as it is in life.  If the students have a rocket that passes inspection, goes to the pad and gets tested they are successful…but the rocket can still fail.  The existence of uncertainty is partly why the students are so invested in their rocket.  It is because it is their solution without guarantee of meeting the project’s objective.  They’ve poured their hearts into this project for five months and will get to see their ‘babies’ launch, just as parents hope to see the fruits of their parenting, without guarantees of outcome, launch their children into life.  This is an inherent part of research.  Paramount though is the fact that true failure only occurs if the process stops and lessons are not learned in the process.”

He also commented that he had seen GREAT looking rockets fail so he’s reticent about getting the students’ hopes up too much.  And on the flip side, I  have seen some rockets that I thought for sure would fall apart on the way down to the pad, and they amazed us all.

Flight Readiness Reviews(FRRs) were due by the end of class on yesterday, Tuesday. One team completed by the bell, but the other will be capping off at the beginning of class on Wednesday.

 Robert Sanchez and Esten Cooke with their vehicle.

 Pictured here are Ander Castaneda, Dawson Harkins, Cody Blohm, Deja Turkett, Cooper McDonald, Josh Handley, Gloria Burns, and Ethan Scott.

 Team members Robert Sanchez and Gloria Burns.

Pictures provided by Katie Burns.

Some juniors and seniors will have an opportunity to work at the launch pads during the event.  This affords them the chance to get experience prepping the rockets for flight and getting closer to the action. This is a privilege typically reserved only for seniors.

Unfortunately I was unable to obtain a picture and Team name from Team 1.

Pictured below is Team 2 with their rocket.

Meusebach (Team 2): Clockwise from #1 at the bottom. Cooper McDonald, Cody Blohm, Ander Castaneda, Deja Turkett, Josh Handley, Gloria Burns, Robert Zowie, Eduardo Memije, Ethan Scott, Dawson Harkins, and Rudy Avila show off their rocket just after completion last Wednesday evening, April 18th.

If you plan to attend any of this year’s launches please register for your attendance ticket at https://www.greateventseats.com/SystemsGo or they may be gotten at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site.  Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

You may also view any of these launches on Livestream. That link is available on the SystemsGo or at the following link from them: Here is the link to the live stream again. https://livestream.com/systemsgo

The launch schedules for each venue are available at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ . I will post it here for each launch day as well. I want it to be as accurate as possible so I will refrain from posting schedules until the evening before each launch day in case there are any late changes.

Here is a PDF  map link and Google graphic map link to the site. These links are available on the SystemsGo web site as well.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/SystemsGoEducation/posts/?ref=notif ,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on these events.

This article is the fifth in a series, new for this school year ’17/’18 of updates that will follow the Fredericksburg STEM Academy/Rocket program. This school is a participant of the SystemsGo STEM program. This series of articles is intended to support, encourage, and challenge 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.

#RideTheSky #Rockets2018 #SystemsGo #FredricksburgEngineeringRocketProgram #Launcher01

Rockets 2018- Fredericksburg Launches Start in Willow City, Thursday

The SystemsGo team has returned from the Jal Launches of Rockets 2018, and immediately transitioned to Willow City on Monday as launches begin there Thursday for Fredericksburg Rockets 2018. Launches at the Stewart’s Hillview Ranch in Willow City will only be 3 days this year, Thursday, April 26 through Saturday, April 28. Teams are already well into all the preparation to make this another fantastic event.

This testing site covers the Fredericksburg and Hill Country area schools and all Texas schools not participating in the Houston launches. Currently there are 66 rockets scheduled for launch by 24 schools at that location.

Launches will begin Thursday through Saturday at approximately 8:30 a.m. and will last at least through 5:30 p.m. each day, wind weather and rocket readiness provided.

Phil  Houseal will be providing Livestream from the site again this year so friends and family can watch the action online if they cannot attend the event. Joyce BK Abbey the voice of rockets will be keeping us informed and up to date throughout each day, as well as providing Rocket Trivia,  and her special brand of on site entertainment. Be sure to also watch for interviews with the rocket teams.

Texas Concessions will be providing food, snacks, and refreshments at the launch site once again this year. Restrooms will be available on site as well.

There is an 80% chance of rain Wednesday evening, so be prepared for damp conditions on the range on Thursday if that actually materializes. Of course they still have a 10% chance in for Thursday too, but then all that may change again, because as we all know Texas weather doesn’t live by the weather man’s predictions. Therefore, it is always best to be prepared for all conditions as it may be cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon, windy, rainy, or sunny.  Sunscreen, rain gear and a chair are recommended. Also be advised that weather will play a factor in launch time availability and may cause delays. Please be patient.

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.

Here is the link to the live stream again. https://livestream.com/systemsgo

Map links to the site in both PDF and Google graphics are on the SystemsGo website at the following link:

http://www.systemsgo.org/events/

But just in case here is a picture of the PDF style map:

And here is the PDF  map link and Google graphic map link to the site as well.

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

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

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

Here is the schedule of schools launching Thursday. It boasts 10 schools and 19 rockets:

Thursday, April 26, 2018
School Name / Teacher 1/1 Trans
Fredericksburg HS
Andrew Matthes		 2
Granger HS
Chaston Kubacak		 1
Hamilton HS
Tom Parrish		 1
Harleton HS
Hayland Hardy		 1 1
Henrietta HS
Sarah Dickey		 1 1
Hollenstein CTC
Rick Griffith		 3
Maypearl HS
Allex Wilson		 1
New Diana HS
Shawn Warden		 1
Roosevelt HS
Jared Warsing		 2 1
Union Grove HS
Greg Park		 2 1
10
Schools Launching
Totals 9 10
Total Rockets                 19

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 Saturday’s event.

If you follow this program and like to view the launches, Rockets 2018  will continue with one more launch series at this level in May. This launch will be held in Smith Point just south of Anahuac, Texas for schools in the Houston area, on the weekend of May 11-13, 2018.  They currently have 56 vehicles scheduled for test by 15 schools at this site.  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. This launch will also be available on Livestream and the link is listed above.

The senior/graduate groups are tentatively scheduled to launch their Goddard level rockets at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico in late June.  These are not available for public viewing or Livestream due to being tested on a military facility, but blog and SystemsGo updates will be posted online as available during that week.

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

Your local Recovery Team rocket Junkie wishes all the schools and students a picture perfect flight and recovery.

 

 

SystemsGo New Mexico Rockets 2018 Launches Were a Great Success Saturday in Jal

Congratulations to SystemsGoNM on a great launch in Jal, NM and completion of their second year. Saturday, Seven schools attempted launching a total of 18 rockets, four of which were Transonics.  These are new to this launch site this year as they only attempted 1 lb/1 mile vehicles at their inaugural launch last year. All four Transonics launched successfully and 10 of the 1 lb/1 mile vehicles launched, leaving only four vehicles unable to launch. That is quite an impressive start for the New Mexico program branch. Staff from SystemsGo in both Texas and New Mexico were very pleased with this year’s launch outcome.

Since the New Mexico program is still in the learning stages for both the schools and the launch personnel, having only four vehicles unable to clear for testing is really a great start for this second year, especially with the addition of Transonic rockets. But more learning to enhance and improve the program for schools and team is still in the works for next year and beyond.

Dignitaries from Chevron, Virgin Galactic and a New Mexico State Senator, along with press were on hand to observe, commend and report on the success of the day. Many were quite impressed with several problem solving fixes that Chelsea Burow, pad operator was able to institute in order to ensure the successful launch of some of the rockets. These were great teaching moments for both students and other personnel at the pad.

Stage 1 and 2 opened Friday afternoon for early rocket checks and clearing. Here are a few pictures from that event at the Jal Elementary School. Photos provided by Naira Mendoza, SystemsGo New Mexico.

Stage 1

 Stage 2

The Jal High School rocket featured below on pad A was the first to be launched for the day, and the first Transonic up for the program. It was reported to have been a beautiful launch. They have a lot to be proud of with this vehicle.

Jal High School Transonic Rocket on Alpha Pad.
Lake Arthur High School Transonic on Bravo Pad.

These photos from the pad were sent in by Chelsea Burow, SystemsGo team member and pad operator.

Chelsea also reported that three students from Jal High School helped her at the pad, Saturday. She regrets that she cannot remember all their names, so as to not forget any one of them all names will be left out. According to Chelsea, these three students were a great asset to her at the pad. She said that they were not only helpful, but very polite and she was very happy to have them at the pad with her. They have told her that they plan to return to help again next year, which she thinks is an awesome idea.

Unfortunately things were quite busy for all personnel so I did not receive many photos for this article, but two links are posted below these pictures, where more can be found.

0F599589-AC07-403D-92D1-253126114952If you saw the picture of this new sign in Friday’s post, you probably figured it was big. This may help put it in perspective, as SystemsGo pad operator, Chelsea Burow, stands next to it.

The following two links are a good place to find photos from Saturday’s launch.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/SystemsGoEducation/posts/?ref=notif

https://www.facebook.com/pg/SystemsGoNM/posts/?ref=page_internal

This closes out the SystemsGoNM launch activities.

Tomorrow the team members from SystemsGo in Texas will be continuing operations in Willow City for the Fredericksburg  launches. Dave Willden, SystemsGo New Mexico head, will be coming to help at these launches.

Rockets 2018  will continue with two  more launches. The first will be held at the Stewart’s Hillview Ranch in Willow City, Texas, as mentioned above. It is host to the largest of the now three launch events. This year’s launch is a little earlier than usual with the event taking place on the weekend of April 26-28, 2018.  This testing site covers the Fredericksburg and Hill Country area schools and all Texas schools not participating in the Houston launches.

Next, in Smith Point just south of Anahuac, Texas,  the Houston area schools will launch, on the weekend of  May 11-13, 2018. 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 is only the second year at this location. Information and a map link are available on the website.

The senior groups are tentatively scheduled to launch their Goddard level rockets at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico in late June.  These are not available for public viewing or Livestream due to being tested on a military facility, but blog and SystemsGo updates will be posted online as available during that week.

If you plan to attend any of this year’s launches please register for your attendance ticket at https://www.greateventseats.com/SystemsGo or they may be gotten at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site.  Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

You may also view any of the launches except WSMR on Livestream. That link will be available on the SystemsGo website closer to the launch.

The launch schedules for each venue are available at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ . I will post it here for each launch day as well. I want it to be as accurate as possible so I will refrain from posting schedules until the evening before each launch day in case there are any late changes.

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

More event details will be available here in upcoming days/weeks 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 launches! #ItISRocketScience #RideTheSky #Launcher01

Rockets 2018 Begins at Jal, New Mexico This Weekend!!!

Rockets 2018 begins this season’s launch series in Jal, New Mexico this Saturday, April 21, 2018 at a launch site on Phillips Hill Road.New Mexico High schools from Jal, Hobbs, Loving, Lovington, Hagerman and Lake Arthur, along with one Texas school, New Tech Odessa will have students participating in the program with 18 rockets scheduled to test. New Tech Odessa is joining the group in Jal this year, as it is much closer for them than any of the Texas sites they have gone to previously.

This is the second year for the SystemsGo New Mexico group, headed up by David Willden. After training in 2016 at the Fredericksburg launches in Willow City, the group began their launches at the new site in April of 2017 with 10 Tsiolkovsky Level (1 lb/ 1 mile) vehicles. This year, they will attempt 14 Tsiolkovsky Level and 4 Oberth Level (Transonic velocity while staying under 13000′) vehicles.

Friday, starting at 8:30 a.m. there is training for Range Safety Officers (RSO’s) for stage 2 and stage 3 volunteers. This is to train and build the volunteer base for the New Mexico events.  Jal Elementary will also be set up for Stage 1 and Stage 2 as Early Check in begins at 1:00 p.m. on Friday and continues until 5:00 p.m.

Friday evening, Dave Willden is hosting a cook-out for volunteers, teachers, teams and admin at the Jal Country Club from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Burgers and hot dogs will be served.

Scott Netherland, Rebekah Hyatt, and Gene Garrett from SystemsGo Texas are leaving at noon Thursday, headed to Jal to participate in the event. Chelsea Burow, also SystemsGo Texas will be meeting them there on Friday evening.

This site will be open to public viewing of launches, as are all sites except White Sands Missile Range. A link to location information and a map link are available at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .  The site will be open for admittance at 8:00 a.m. and launches will commence presumably at 8:30 a.m. Of course rockets are subject to winds, weather and workmanship, all of which can stall a launch. Come join in the action and cheer on these students. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

If you plan to attend Jal or any of this year’s launches please register for your attendance ticket at https://www.greateventseats.com/SystemsGo or they may be obtained at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site.  Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

The schedule of launches for Jal is available at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .  I will post it here for launch day. I want it to be as accurate as possible so I will refrain from posting it now in case there are any late changes.

A live feed for Saturday’s launches has not been confirmed yet, but I believe something may be in the works for that option.   Information about the event, map links and schedule links are available at  http://www.bringonthescience.com

Here is a reproduction of the map, but the one you will find online will be much clearer. 

SystemsGo New Mexico does have a twitter feed they started last year in order to follow the launches. This link is still live, but right now there are no current tweets.  That link is https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNM

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

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

If you follow this program and like to view the launches, Rockets 2018  will continue with two  more launches in April and May. Next the Stewart Ranch in Willow City, Texas will host the largest of the now three launch events on the weekend of April 26-28, 2018.  This testing site covers the Fredericksburg and Hill Country area schools and all Texas schools not participating in the Houston launches. Currently there are 66 rockets scheduled for launch by 24 schools at that location.

The second will be held in Smith Point just south of Anahuac, Texas for schools in the Houston area, on the weekend of May 11-13, 2018.  They currently have 56 vehicles scheduled for test by 15 schools at this site.  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.

The senior groups are tentatively scheduled to launch their Goddard level rockets at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico in late June.  These are not available for public viewing or Livestream due to being tested on a military facility, but blog and SystemsGo updates will be posted online as available during that week.

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 launches!

 

 

 

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

2017/2018 Fall Session Hi Lights Wrap Up for Fredericksburg’s Engineering/Rocket Program-(Nov. 10-Dec. 22)

Next Friday, December 22, the Fredericksburg High School Engineering/Rocket Program will dismiss for Christmas break. When they do, five weeks will have passed since the last update on their program. This is a busy group, and there is plenty to report on their learning and progress as we wrap up the fall semester.

The Freshman have been learning about  production/manufacturing engineering  and have recently completed their project which was an orange juice manufacturing factory design.  The class split into working groups of four because of the complexity of the problem. Their product goal for the plant was to take raw material and produce packaged juice in palletized product bundles ready for sale. According to Mr. Matthes, “It was a successful endeavor with lots of different results when it came to the challenging research it required.”

On Friday, December 15,  they presented their latest project over engineering fluidity.  Each student was expected to work independently to create new launch lugs for the senior level rocket. Their new lug designs need to be more aerodynamic than the current lugs.  Each student was able to show what they were capable of on their own, instead of having the co-dependency of fellow students. This solo venture challenged them to create a multiview drawing of their own new design, as well as featuring their understanding of units of measurement and how they all work together, something that will be of great significance for their final project in the future, which is to research the math and then design a hybrid rocket motor.   A  highly significant amount of math and even more units will  require their careful attention in that upcoming project . What they are learning as they work through this propulsion/aerospace problem will become relevant to them again when they begin their junior studies in 19 months. Therefore it is an important study in which to end the course.

Just to remind everyone, the Sophomore students are still working in a self paced manner in this year’s class. Therefore a good growth mark for them in their class progress  is  3D printing, which they have recently begun.  They have also shown marked achievement in their Autocad,  Dimensioning and Isometric drawing skills. In part this is due to their receptiveness to all the constructive feedback.

Luke Duderstadt working on Autocad.

“They have advanced tremendously in their attention to detail, ability to see things with greater special awareness, and pride in workmanship.  The transformation has been fun to witness,” states Mr. Matthes.

LabVIEW programming is an important focus for the juniors. At this point, Mr. Matthes says it is too early to tell their final success in this area, but so far, they are progressing well.

Fluids and aerodynamic drag have been the focus of their studies related to rockets these past five weeks. After learning these new skills, they were able to test them on the design and development of their Generation 3 rockets. In order to do this, they had to create a rocket that was stable with exactly a ‘margin’ of 1 while reaching 1800 feet in RockSim simulation and design software. Students were able to launch their actual Gen 3 rockets on Friday, Dec. 15 after they had in class rocket presentations and evaluations that morning. Additionally they were further challenged with a short deadline in which to create these rockets. They met this head on and were ready for presentations.

“It was collectively the best group of Gen 3 flights I have seen in years,” reports  Mr. Matthes.

Bradley Plaza and Carl Wilger prepare to launch their Generation 3 rocket.

Jabin Gipson and Rudy Avila model their Generation 3 rocket on launch day.

They will detail the many lessons they learned, including  results from mistakes in design, construction, evaluation process, and the significance of attention to detail in their post mission analysis (PMA). As they begin their second semester project, all these lessons will be critical learning tools in the success of this larger rocket.

Mr. Matthes reported, ” I was thoroughly impressed with all of them.  It was the kind of work ethic that will make their senior year a success if they can manage to keep up the motivation and focus.”

Critical design reviews (CDR) are the main focus for seniors on all four of their projects, which include the Red Bird #19 Rocket, a wind tunnel, the  NASA large motor test stand, and the Small HyperTek interface test stand, known as Baby Bird. Currently the group is running short on time their schedules and task lists are not reflecting all that they should. There is a possibility that they are either not aware of all that they have missed, or they are really close to being ready. Mr. Matthes is unsure at this point which one it is.

Pictured here is the seniors’ flow straightener prototype for their wind tunnel. It was 3D printed on a Makerbot.

They are scheduled to hold a preliminary design review with alumni at 10:00 on Wednesday, January 10th, here in the classroom. A full CDR will be due at the end of January.

“One potential reality is that if it becomes evident there is not enough time for everything, some project(s) may require postponing.  We are hoping for the best,”  states Mr. Matthes.

On Friday, December 22, 2017 at 10:30 in Mr. Matthes’ classroom,  last year’s alumni will be presented with their banner for flying the Red Bird #18 at White Sands Missile Range.  Seniors will have a question and answer session with alumni  to share experiences and receive advice.

At 7:00 p.m. also on Friday the 22nd, all alumni of the Fredericksburg Aeroscience/Engineering program are invited to come to Hondo’s and join Mr. Williams and Mr. Matthes for visiting over dinner and drinks.  It will be casual, come and go as you like bringing significant others and friends as desired.

Mr. Matthes reminds all program students, “In January, the spring program begins and deadlines and target dates for their projects become highly important in order to meet projected launch dates.”

NEW YOU (National Engineers Week Youth Outreach United) continues its progress in planning the 4th-8th grade engineering outreach event to be held on February 17th.  Look for more in the newspaper and students of those grades bring home flyers in January.

 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.

 

2017/2018 Fredericksburg’s Engineering/Rocket Program-October/Early November Hi Lights

September  and October have come and gone and  we are now half way through November and the Fredericksburg High School Engineering Program is deep into their studies busy learning and working at all levels. Eight weeks have passed since our first Engineering Program update and the first semester is halfway through.
Since our last update, the Freshmen have created an electrical design for the NASA built and designed Orion space capsule. Keith Kunz from Teledyne was their audience for this presentation.  Teledyne works with offshore oil exploration developing and designing hard and software for their use.  As an audience for these presentations, individuals like Mr. Kunz, provide constructive criticism such as design strengths and weaknesses, areas that did not match the design logic, things that were overlooked, and skills of presentation.
Currently the Freshman are working on a bio-engineering project, which will be designed to help student, Cody Bearden, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which keeps him confined to a wheelchair. It will be a hoverchair.   Yesterday they presented their project to a new audience, consisting of Tim Nolan, an  AirEvac pilot and previous Marin Corps helicopter pilot, Todd Keener a mechanical engineer, and Scott Netherland, Executive Director of SystemsGo .  Details on this presentation will be forthcoming in our next update.
Sophomore students are still working at their own pace in this year’s class. Due to this,  the further along the year rolls, the larger the gap is between the slowest and fastest student. Because of this some are already starting to learn Isometrics, which are 2D representations of 3D objects. The class as a whole is also studying Dimensioning.
“They are all making good progress, but having them self pace has led to some really taking off with AutoCAD,” states Mr. Matthes.
The Engineering program flew in Brian Evans from Space Propulsion Group out of Butte, Montana to conduct a two-day seminar for the Juniors and Seniors.
Pictured here are Juniors, Gloria Burns, Cooper McDonald and Eston Cooke with Mr. Evans: 
According to Mr. Matthes, “Students really enjoyed having insight from Mr. Evans.”
For the past two months, the Juniors have been learning new skills on Excel which allowed them to better understand the math of starting a new model. They have been creating spreadsheets for a hypothetical bakery where they used calculation, look ups and other functions in order to track materials, hours, and productivity.  Class time has been split between this project and the physics of flight.
Three weeks earlier, the class flew their Generation 1 rockets.  The parameters for this first flight, were just have a rocket on the pad to fly and served as a platform for them to learn and start asking questions on how to correct their flights.
These flights were of varying degrees of stability with some being completely unstable, some having a corkscrew affect and others displaying very straight flights. The instruction on stability follows this flight test and leads into the Generation 2 tests.
Last week Generation 2 rockets were finally launched.  They had been patiently waiting due to several scheduling conflicts with school college fair days and bad weather, windy days.
For this test they actually had to prove the stability of their rockets. This is accomplished by literally cutting the rockets in half.  Students are forced to be intentional about stabilizing their vehicles. The pictures below are from the Generation 2 flights.
Here, Eduardo Memije and Gloria Burns load their G1 Rocket for launching.
In this photo, Deja Turkett and Bradley Plaza take their turn for launch.
Here the whole Junior class group displays their rockets on launch day.
Currently they are splitting their class time between LabVIEW Programming which they have just begun and the continued study of the physics of flight. Next they will be studying fluids, aerodynamics and drag, and impulse, as well as factors affecting drag, this is all part of prepping for Generation 3 rockets.
According to Mr. Matthes, “Their next objective is to reach 1800 feet using RockSim to design the rockets.  They are assessed on the closeness of construction to design:  it is a tough mark to make without extreme precision.”
On Tuesday, Nov. 7, the Seniors traveled to Houston. After arrival, the group spent four hours at Space Center Houston. According to Mr. Matthes, the students, “had a blast!”

In this mock up, Evan Knapp mounts the Space Shuttle on top of the 747 that transports the shuttle back to Kennedy Space Center.

Corbin Smajstrla is seen here pumping iron on different planets where the gravity is not the same.
Chris Calzada (left) and Rebecca Sechrist (below) pose for pictures in space.

Evan Knapp maneuvers his EVA device back to the ISS as Chris Calzada and Harrison Spisak look on.

 Next the group visited Rocket Park so that the students could get a visual grasp on the enormity of the Saturn V Rocket that took men to the moon and back.
 Relaxing at the end of the day beneath the Apollo capsule on the Saturn V.

The entire travelling crew. Top row: Instructor Andrew Matthes, Harrison Spisak, Chris Calzada, Corbin Smajstrla, and Evan Knapp. Bottom row: Rebecca Sechrist, Pierce Vasquez, Joey Leal, and Sergio Walle.

Later, Joyce Abbey, the voice of the SystemsGo launches, and Dave Ladrack, a longtime program friend and supporter, joined the students for dinner.
On Wednesday, Nov. 8, they arrived at Johnson Space Center along with nine other schools and met, Chris Madsen, pictured below, a Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) engineer in the flight dynamics department.
Mr. Madsen coordinated and oversaw the program for the students, and gave an overview of College Co-op opportunities. He encouraged the students to be involved and to acquire work experience while still in college.  All nine schools gave presentations of their flight models explaining the projected flights of their rockets to engineers and representatives from other schools who have also taken on a similar tasks.
After lunch the documentation students need in order to be cleared for flight at White Sand next summer, was discussed. Mr. Madsen used examples and an overview of his job in comparison so that students could see that what he does is similarly an extremely more complex version of what the students are building.
 Later that afternoon, FHS had a meeting to present preliminary design reviews of both the wind tunnel project and Redbird #19 to five engineers. This was  three hours of presentation and a question and answer session.
“It was a tremendous opportunity for the students and the feedback was excellent,” reported Mr. Matthes. “The trip was a success.”
Design progress has been made on Redbird #19 but many details still have to be worked out before it can be considered an integrated system.
Mr. Matthes feels that, “The input from this trip will be significantly helpful for drawing both flaws and considerations to light as they proceed forward. “
 The group has been working hard to pull together everything for the Redbird #19 presentation, this has made it necessary to put Teststand on hold for the past week.
Something new the Engineering Program is working on, is the N.E.W. Y.O.U. Event, short for National Engineers Week Youth Outreach United. This will be the first time the FHS Engineering Program will be hosting this event. The purpose of this event, is to expose students from 4th through 8th graders to engineering. They will participate in activities and interact with high school engineering students while learning in a fun and relaxed environment.
FHS Engineering Program has already been readying for the event with two separate planning meetings involving about 20 students in order to organize and divide tasks. Everything is moving along well and they anticipate a great event.
National Engineers Week will begin February 18th. The N.E.W.Y.O.U Event will be held the day before on Saturday, February 17th.  Forth through sixth graders will attend the morning session, and seventh and eighth graders will attend the afternoon/evening session.
This article is the second 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.