UND’s student rocketeers ‘Frozen Fury’ to talk space exploration Feb. 25

Kate Menzies

Document Type

News Article

Publication Date

2-13-2013

Campus Unit

College of Arts & Sciences

Abstract

A Physics and Astrophysics public talk and telescope observing session will take place at 8 p.m., Monday, Feb. 25, in 116 Witmer Hall on the University of North Dakota campus.

The talk "Pioneering: Preservation of Space Exploration through Emerging NASA STEM Initiatives" will be presented by the UND Frozen Fury Rocket Team (undergraduate students). Following the talk, attendees will be given the opportunity to observe the night sky through a telescope (weather permitting).

'Frozen Fury' rocket team:

The Frozen Fury Rocket Team has been accepted into NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center's Rocket Competition and is well on its way to a successful event. This year marks the sixth consecutive participation in the University Student Launch Initiative (USLI). The team hopes to continue to build upon their previous USLI experience to create the best rocket yet.

NASA's University Student Launch Initiative, or USLI, is a competition that challenges university-level students to design, build and launch a reusable rocket with a scientific or engineering payload one mile above ground. The project engages students in scientific research and real-world engineering processes with NASA engineers.

Once selected, teams design their rockets and payloads throughout the academic year. USLI requires a NASA review of the teams' preliminary and critical designs. The project also requires flight and launch readiness reviews before the rockets and payloads are approved. Teams complete a Post-Launch Assessment Review to include conclusions from their science or engineering experiment and the overall flight performance. The Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review and Flight Readiness Review are conducted by a panel of scientists and engineers from NASA, NASA contactors and external partners.

The Frozen Fury rocket team has gotten plenty of experience building and flying rockets. After a successful flight of a half-scale model, the team is looking forward to building its full scale rocket (a 9-foot, 6 inch diameter rocket).

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