Our Crowdfunding Groups
“The Rensselaer Rocket Society provides an opportunity for students of all majors and experience levels to get hands-on experience with the planning, construction, and deployment of high powered rockets. Whether a member wants to work for a company like Space X or Boeing and is looking for experience, or they simply have a passion for rocketry, we can aid them on their journey. Additional funding will allow us to develop, construct, and launch a quality, ambitious project for the NASA 2016 Student Launch competition.” – John Behnke '17
We are currently involved in the 2015-2016 NASA USLI (Undergraduate Student Launch Initiative) Competition. We are in the process of designing and constructing a rocket that will be launched in Alabama at the Marshall Spaceflight Center. Your support will allow us to build a rocket that will represent the ingenuity of Rensselaer students among several other contenders from other universities.
Your support allows us to compete in a nation-wide, NASA-run, amateur rocketry competition. Not only will we be able to build and fly an extremely cool rocket (look out for videos posted on our website), but we will also be representing Rensselaer and its students in front of NASA and several other schools.
Your gift will help us build a rocket that meets the rigorous guidelines set by NASA. It must be able to reach exactly 5,280 feet above sea level, which will be accomplished by an altimeter and a drag flap control system. It also must incorporate two scientific payloads. We selected “atmospheric measurements” and “aerodynamic analysis of structural protuberances.” In short, this means the rocket will be laden with subsystems requiring the creativity of students majoring in Mechanical, Electrical, Computer Science, Aerospace, and many other branches of engineering.
We are the premier rocket club on campus at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Our team consists of students with majors ranging from Computer Science to Aeronautical Engineering who are passionate about rocketry. Our club was founded is the spring of 2011 to compete in the 2012 NASA University Student Launch Initiative Competition. The challenge for this event was to develop and build a high powered rocket that would reach as close to one mile as possible and would carry a scientific payload. We currently have two high power rockets under construction. We are being assisted by John Sicker with things such as the development of our rockets and certifications. For more information, please visit the Rensselaer Rocket Society website.
