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Oklahoma State University

2018 Starts with Perfect Launch Day

By Lucas Utley

On February 17, 2018 the OSU AIAA Rocketry Team headed to Argonia, KS for the first launch of the new year. From certification flights to testing and data acquisition flights, there were rockets of all sizes launching throughout the day.

We had seven successful certification flights: Garrett Wilkens, Kaitlyn Powell, and Jordan Chancellor with their Level 1; Tim Runnels, Hunter Billen, and Samantha Huckabay with their Level 2; and Jake Rosario with his Level 3 flight, 2π Corrected for Aspect Ratio on an Aerotech M1550R.

Our Controls team lead, Andrew Walsh, prepared 3D-printed electronics sleds for data collection of several altimeters, sensors, and flight instruments. The amount of data acquired was astounding, and it included the first flight of the Altus Metrum TeleMega that the team won at the Argonia Cup last year. We look forward to using the TeleMega on board during this year’s competitions.

Finally, several of our team members are completing a senior capstone project to also compete in the upcoming Argonia Cup. Gerald McCullers and Lucas Utley flew Everything is Sticky, the first rocket for our team to be built entirely of student-made fiberglass components, including tubes and sheets. The tubes were the airframe and 38mm motor mount tube and the centering rings and fins were CNC cut from plates we also made ourselves. The rocket was topped off with a 3D-printed nosecone. This is an important step for our Structures team as they begin to fabricate composite parts in-house rather than purchasing tubes and sheets commercially. The flight couldn’t have gone better, and this paves the way for composite rocket parts being built entirely by OSU students.

Our next launch is March 11th, and we’ll be attempting a test flight for the Argonia Cup as well as additional certification flights. It was a good start to the new year!