Who We Are
At our very essence, we are a student-run organization which allows aspiring college students at the University of Texas at Austin to build high-power rockets. The club gives hands-on experience to the aspiring rocket enthusiasts who crave more than just theory behind launching a rocket taught in class. We have a lot of undergraduate students ready to get their hands dirty with making rockets, whether it be for the Certification Team, NASA SLI Competition, or the Spaceport America Cup!
Our Projects
For newcomers to the field of rocketry, we have the Certification Team, where each semester a group of 10 to 12 students are placed under mentors to build their very own rocket. Launching and recovering their rocket successfully provides a Level 1 Certification with the Tripoli Rocketry Association and motivates them to continue on to get Level 2 certification! This introductory experience requires a lot of materials though, and a good amount of money to fund.
An exciting and new event we are participating in this year is the NASA Student Launch Initiative competition, which has one of the most dedicated and passionate team of students. The challenge, which is to deploy a UAV once the rocket has landed requires a huge amount of research and testing. This project requires a lot of materials for construction, testing, and redesigning the rocket.
One of our main focuses is the Spaceport America Cup, an annual intercollegiate high-power rocketry competition. We are always innovating and coming up with creative new ideas for systems in our rocket. For this year, we are planning on using our very own hybrid engine, Taurus! It is currently in development and testing and will be a huge leap for the club. We also use this opportunity as a chance to help conduct some research. For example, last year we sent up an artificial working model of human veins and blood in order to learn more about the effect of high G-forces on blood pooling. This year, our competition rocket will launch to 10,000 ft with the most advanced technology we have created. The payload will investigate the stress of high g-force flight on the human brain, which will help us better understand the impact of space flight on astronauts.
Last year, we placed 8th in the 10k COTS division and 9th overall in the 2018 Spaceport America Cup. In the US, we were the 5th highest scoring team!
This victory only motivates us to work harder to do better at this year’s competition, and for that we need your help!
We are committed to having the best year yet, and for this, we are raising $4000 to help fund with buying materials, housing, transportation, and costs of research and development. A simple donation can go a long way as we gear up for competition!
With all of the excitement generated from large companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, the rocketry industry has literally blown up! This means it is crucial for students to get experience before they enter the industry, and that is ultimately what our club aims to provide. Building rockets is expensive, and any donation will be greatly appreciated and put into helping the students in our club succeed!
Please consider donating to help support the Longhorn Rocketry Association! With your help, we will be able to focus on teaching aspiring rocket scientists and winning at competitions!