Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition

ROWAN AIAA IREC

FLYING HIGH

Under the leadership of student leader Zach Pedrick and Dr. Schmalzel, Rowan University’s Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition team is aiming high this June for the Spaceport America Cup competition.

ABOUT US

This semester, the 2023-24 Rowan IREC team has been working diligently on a powerful 10 foot model rocket that will soar 10,000 feet into the New Mexico sky between June 17-22. Participating Rowan engineering students will fly a COTS (Commercial off-the-shelf) rocket modified with custom components to meet ideal flying goals and competition requirements. This rocket will be driven from Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, to the competition in Las Cruces, New Mexico - a total of 2,082 miles.

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

The Rowan IREC team would not be possible without Rowan's student chapter of AIAA. This chapter of AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) brings Rowan student attention and involvement to the field of aerospace. This is important to Rowan engineering students since Rowan University does not currently offer a full aerospace related major. By offering programs such as the Rowan IREC team and DBF (design, build, fly), students can get crucial experience in rocketry and aviation before potentially pursuing a career in the field. Like a true work environment, students build and continue off of the work of previous students, ever-perfecting their performance. Even before students arrive at Rowan for their freshman year, they have the opportunity to participate in the annual high school outreach event “Blast off”, in which students fly their own rocket up to 1000 feet.

TEAM PLAYERS

Three individual teams are coordinating to fly - Avionics/Payload, Airframe/Fins, and Propulsion/Recovery.

Avionics/Payload

The avionics system controls the separation events of the rocket. The system uses an internal dipole antenna and a circuit PCB to control the release of CO2 for separation. A black powder separation system was considered, but there were complications with acquiring the rights to discharge a black powder explosion, as well as failure and safety concerns. The avionics system will be mounted inside the nose cone due to its RF insulating properties. Two batteries and two avionics devices will be contained inside four interlocking wooden parts, saving on rocket weight.

Airframe/Fins

The Airframe/Fins team is responsible for designing and constructing the rocket body and fins, which will house our avionics system, payload, and recovery system. After much consideration, the team decided that a water-jet cut fiberglass laminate (G-10) would be ideal for the rocket. The fins, much like the rest of the rocket, will be wrapped in carbon fiber to ensure quality, heat resistance, and aerodynamics. Fins are a crucial component of the project, since they reduce small turbulence in airflow that would otherwise compound and spiral the rocket out of control.

Propulsion/Recovery

The Propulsion/Recovery team facilitates the rocket motor and parachute recovery systems on the rocket. A high power, L3 certification motor will be selected with at least 10,000 Newton-seconds of Impulse in order to accelerate our rocket at an ideal rate. Once the maximum height is reached, our parachute recovery system will ensure a soft touchdown so that the onboard recorded data can be analyzed for competition results.

OUR STUDENT LEADER

Zach Pedrick

Zach is a Senior in Mechanical Engineering and has been working on design of the rocket for two semesters now, elevating to our student leader this fall. Alongside us, he is continuing to fabricate the system that is responsible for deploy of the compressed CO2-driven drogue parachute at apogee (peak height) and the main parachute at 1500 feet.

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