When Isaac Owolabi first heard about an opportunity for university students to gain real experience building rockets through the NASA Student Launch Projects, his initial response was to question why his University wasn’t taking part. While he himself participated in a NASA workshop over the summer in Utah, he decided to bring the idea back to his classmates and see if he could find any response.
Four months later, Tacho Lycos (Greek for “Speedy Wolf”) has been accepted into the NASA University Student Launch Initiative and is preparing to build their first small-scale test model.
In April the team will travel to Huntsville, Ala. with 350 other student rocket enthusiasts from middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities to launch a rocket they hope will hit the one-mile-high mark.
“I thought this was something other students would be interested in, being an engineering university with an aerospace program,” Owolabi, a senior in aerospace engineering, said. “I had an interest meeting to talk about the requirements, and the people who were really committed to the idea stuck around.”
The team is comprised of ten members: nine aerospace engineering majors and one mechanical engineer. Anna Winslow, a senior in aerospace engineering, is the only female representative on the team. All the members of Tacho Lycos are seniors.
Reed Goodwin-Johanssen, a senior in aerospace engineering, said he joined the rocket team because he has been interested in rocketry since high school. “I’ve been building and flying rockets for a while, so when I heard Isaac talk about the contest of course I wanted to be a part of it,” Goodwin-Johanssen said.
Goodwin-Johanssen’s official title on the team is safety officer, or in his words the one who “makes sure everyone doesn’t blow themselves up.” He also draws from his past experiences with rockets to help purchase and acquire parts and get other team members involved with construction.
To be accepted into the Lauch Initiative, the team members had to submit a proposal to the program’s selection committee outlining the team’s plan of work, initial designs for the rocket and safety precautions. After receiving approval, the team also had to request money from the N.C. Space Grant for supplies.
“We’ve already had to do a lot of preparation, and we are just now starting to build the small-scale model,” Owolabi said. “The support we have received from faculty advisers and the University has been helpful as we hit the ground running.”
The purpose of the NASA Student Launch Initiative is, according to a NASA press release, to “inspire students to parlay their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into rewarding careers in fields critical to NASA’s mission of exploration and scientific discovery.”
Students participating in the contest have to design their own rockets, including a working science payload, and launch them to an altitude of one mile. The payload is an on-board science experiment that contestants design to last the course of the rocket’s flight and gather data that can be studied when the rocket returns to Earth.
“Apart from the actual rocket launching, we will also have the chance to tour the NASA facility in Alabama, meet engineers and scientists working in the field, present our findings to other students and attend a banquet for all participants,” Owolabi said.
Tacho Lycos is actively involved in outreach campaigns to local schools in the Raleigh area, according to Owolabi.
“Our goal is to reach 500 students by the end of the year,” Owolabi said. “We do a PowerPoint presentation and show kids the rockets we are working on. We are excited about the response we are having from younger students who are really interested in rocketry.”
Even though the team will be competing against other schools with established teams, they hope to still present a strong presence at the competition April 15-18.
Aaron Bowe, a senior in aerospace engineering, serves the team by researching the recovery system to make sure the rocket will safely land on the ground.
“Despite it being our first year in the competition, I think we still have a good chance because we have a lot of enthusiasm and knowledge on our team,” Bowe said. “It’s a learning experience for all of us. We hope to make a good impression as first-time competitors.”
The current team members of Tacho Lycos are all seniors, but the team hopes to find students interested in keeping the club going for next year’s competition.
“We want to start showing presentations to junior level classes and find students who want to keep the club going,” Bowe said. “Since I will still be here next year as a graduate student I can continue to help out. “
