| As a result of the success of Alex Marks, Will Bishop, and Spencer Greaves at Team America Rocketry Challenge, University School of Milwaukee was chosen to participate in the NASA Student Launch Initiative. NASA Student Launch Initiative is a project in which teams of students are assigned to launch a rocket with a scientific payload to a height of 5280 feet and collect relevant scientific data with the goal of completing an experiment. Our team, composed of 7 USM sophomores (Spencer Greaves, Alex Marks, David Werner, Jawaad Ahmad, Christian Bauzenberger, Colin Weber, and James Levine), is measuring a correlation between CO2 and UV radiation. This page is the USM SLI website, on which I will post progress reports and information regarding the project each time we meet. |
News |
| May 8, 2005 - We launched the full scale rocket down at the Marshall Space Flight Center on April 23, 2005 (and were there from the 21st to the 24th). The launch was a success and we all had a great trip. Before we wrap things up, I'd like to post a video of the launch and a slideshow with photos from the entire SLI project. Both are available in the Media section. You can also expect another update or two with our final report on the results we got from our payload. This means everyone on the team can stop calling my house and telling me to update the site now. Thanks, and enjoy! |
| March 26, 2005 - We launched the full scale rocket at Bong Recreational Center. The rocket achieved an altitude of 5,229 feet, a mere 51 feet short of the target of 1 mile. All 5 motors in the cluster ignited within milliseconds of each other, just as planned. Unfortunately, the payload parachute did not properly deploy (although thankfully the payload sustained minimal damage). The launch was, on the whole, a success. Video and pictures are available in the Media section. |
| March 19, 2005 - We met at the Marks residence for our third build session. Unfortunately a few team members couldn't make it, as spring break has started and people are leaving for vacations. Video from the 4th and the 19th have been added to the Media section (about time), and new information has been added to the Payload section. |
| March 4, 2005 - Videos and images have been added to the Media section documenting the construction of the launch vehicle. We also met today at the Marks residence to continue constructing the rocket, so expect more video from that within the next week. Pictures from this session are already up. |
| February 27, 2005 - Major changes have been made to the Design section. A new section on the rocket's fins has been added, and the altimeter bay information has also been updated. |
| February 21, 2005 - We started construction of the full scale launch vehicle at the Marks residence. Pictures have been posted in the Media section. |
| February 16, 2005 - Major updates have been made to the Design section. The Media section has also been reorganized. |
| February 8, 2005 - We conducted the CDR teleconference with NASA today, and we managed to surmount technical difficulties and deliver our presentation (which went well). There's also now a picture of the whole team on the site, which you can see in the Contact section. The content in the Design section has also been updated. |
| February 4, 2005 - Alex, Spencer and I conducted the teleconferencing dry run with NASA. Overall, it went extremely well. After some serious help from network administrator Chris Cruz, we got the VseeLab software working and found that the setup we planned on will work perfectly on Tuesday. That's magical! |
| January 31, 2005 - The group met at school today to work on the CDR, coordinate teleconferencing, and work on the website. We now have buttons thanks to David Werner, and new media from the meeting on the 28th. Also, the frames can now be resized, so if you're having problems with the button size, you can adjust the frame height. Notes are in the Reports section. |
| January 28, 2005 - The group met at the Marks residence to put the payload in the wind tunnel and test the airflow and the CO2 sensor. The tests were a stupendous success. Pictures and video are available in the Media section, and minutes are in the Reports section. |
| January 23, 2005 - The group met at the Greaves household to discuss the payload design, work on the January 15 footage, and talk about the CDR. Notes are available in the Reports section. Also, the media from the 15th is now available. |
| January 15, 2005 - The group met at the Marks household to continue building the payload and do wind tunnel tests to determine the center of pressure of the rocket. Notes are available in the Reports section, and video is available in the Media section. |
| January 3, 2005 - We met at the Marks house to construct the payload mock-up and the quarter-scale model of the rocket. Media available in the Media section, and minutes are in the Reports section. |
| January 2, 2005 - We met at the Greaves house to discuss the rocket and finalize the plans for the website. We agree to make the site public soon, discuss future meetings, and talk about rocket and wind tunnel design. Colin also gave a fascinating talk on Vernier products. More info available in the Reports section. |
| December 22, 2004 - The group met at the Marks house to discuss the project, plan out future meetings and discuss constructing a 1/4 scale model of the rocket. Notes are available in the Reports section. |
| December 5, 2004 - We met at school today to test launch the 1/5 scale rocket. Our first launch was conducted with a C motor and went to an altitude of 209 feet. Our second flight was conducted with a D motor and went to an altitude of 779 feet. The parachutes deployed successfully and the launches in general went smoothly, although we did have some problems with the igniter. More information is available in the Media and Reports sections. |
| November 30, 2004 - All pages of the site have now been constructed. While some updating remains to be done, a rough draft of the entire site has been created, with templates for updates already created. What you see here is pretty close to the final product. Enjoy! |
| November 27, 2004 - Welcome to the newly created USM SLI Website! The site isn't fully constructed yet, so bear with me as I get all the other pages up. With the Preliminary Design Review coming up, there will be plenty of updates in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for more info. Notes of today's meeting are available in the Reports section. |
| November 23, 2004 - We packed a TI-86 calculator in a plywood box (attached to a 52 inch parachute), with the Vernier LabPro and connected CO2 sensor in order to test the durability and data collection capabilities of the LabPro and CO2 sensor. We dropped the box off the roof of the school successfully, with no damage to any of the box's contents. Images of the event are available in the Media section. Further documentation is available in the Reports section. |