Student launch initiative-new team the academic affairs office at the NASA marshall space flight center (msfc) will partner with schools and informal organizations to sponsor the NASA student launch…

Student launch initiative-new team the academic affairs office at the NASA marshall space flight center (msfc) will partner with schools and informal organizations to sponsor the NASA student launch initiative (SLI) rocket and payload teams during the school calendar year of 2008-2009. The NASA SLI is designed to engage students at the middle and high school level in a learning opportunity that involves design, construction, test, and launch of a reusable launch vehicle and science-related payload. The initiative is intended to encourage students to pursue careers in engineering or science-related fields. Teaming with engineers from government, business, and academia, students get a hands-on, inside look at the science and engineering professions. The selected teams will each build and launch a reusable rocket carrying the students science payload that will launch in the spring of 2009. SLI is a rocket and payload-building challenge designed for middle and high school students. IT requires an eight (8) month commitment to successfully design, construct, test, launch, and recover a reusable rocket and science payload. The initiative is more than designing and building a rocket from a commercial kit. IT involves diverse aspects such as: scheduling, purchasing, performing calculations, financing the project, coordinating logistics, arranging press coverage, and documenting impact made on education through reports and design reviews. Teams are encouraged to involve a diverse group of departments such as mathematics, science, technology, english, journalism, and art. The performance targets for the reusable launch vehicle and payload are: the vehicle shall carry a science payload. Time critical payloads are discouraged. The vehicle shall be developed so that IT delivers the science payload to a specific altitude of 5,280 feet above ground level (AGL). The vehicle shall be designed to use a standard launch rail. Exceptions may be made for returning teams who chose to use an l motor new teams: maximum total motor impulse provided by the entire vehicle shall not exceed 2560 newton-seconds (k class). This total impulse constraint is applicable to any combination of a single motor, clustered motors, and staged motors. Returning teams: maximum total motor impulse provided by the entire vehicle shall not exceed 4000 newton-seconds (l class). This total impulse constraint is applicable to any combination of a single motor, clustered motors, and staged motors. The vehicle shall use solid motor propulsion using ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (apcp) motors. Teams will have a choice of motors to choose from. Note: the motor selection date is a hard deadline. The launch vehicle and science payload shall be designed to be recoverable and reusable. Separation at apogee will be allowed but not advised. Separating at apogee increases the risk of drifting outside of the recovery area. Exception: separating at apogee to deploy a drogue parachute. Dual deployment and shear pins are encouraged. Preparation of the vehicle and payload on launch day shall not exceed 4 hours. At the end of the 4-hour preparation period, the team must be prepared to launch. Data from the science payload shall be collected, analyzed, and reported by the team following the scientific method. A tracking device shall be placed on the vehicle allowing the rocket and payload to be recovered after launch. The following items should not be used in building the rocket: o no flashbulbs. The recovery system must use commercially available low-current electric matches. O no forward canards o no mach-busters o no forward firing motors o no rear ejection parachute designs