ARIS

During my time at ARIS, I was the team leader of the payload team. At the Spaceport America Cup, every rocket must carry a 4 kg scientific payload. Our team was tasked with developing interesting science experiments within the 10x10x10 cm³ cubes. We designed 3 different experiments. The first one was a mini microscope. The goal was to find out how stable biological observations can be done during a rocket lunch and flight. The set up was so well designed, that we could barely see any influence of the rocket. With the second experiment, we tried to use Piezzo crystals to gain energy back from vibrations of the rocket. (Un-)fortunately, the rocket was steady through out the whole flight and no electricity was produced. The last experiment aimed to test different setups of acceleration sensors to improve the position determination of the rocket. Even though we gathered data, none of the setups seemed to improve the determination. In addition, we had a 4th cube to balance all experiments to reduce the impact on the rocket’s center of mass.

The Spaceport America Cup is held in the middle of the New Mexican desert. During the competition, I was the safety officer. Even though we had multiple training sessions, working under pressure, heat and lack of sleep is a new challenge for a team. Constant reminders to stay hydrated, to use the proper safety equipment and to take some breaks helped everyone to stay safe. In the end we earned the honorable mention for our safety procedure. The rocket launch itself went as well as we could have hoped. Unfortunately, a last minute change by the engine company left the rocket with less power than predicted. Nevertheless, our rocket still rose into the sky and won 2^nd place!