The Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) is challenging student teams from universities across the country to design, build and launch a rocket capable of carrying a 3 pound payload to 10,000ft. Teams are scored on achieving the altitude goal, time to altitude, and the technical value of their payload. This competition is open to all university students and has no entry fees.
SEDS has found that university students across the United States lack an accessible opportunity for hands-on engineering experience at the undergraduate level in rocketry and propulsion research. It is very difficult for a team of students with little to no prior competition experience or financial backing to successfully compete in student engineering competitions. This competition seeks to provide an accessible, hands-on rocketry competition for students across the country.
The SEDS University Student Rocketry Challenge gives student an innovative opportunity to compete against other student teams flying high powered rockets. The challenge of flying a rocket carrying a three pound payload to 10,000 feet helps students develop design skills, gain hands on manufacturing experience, and build a strong professional skill set. Engineering design reports and reviews will give students practical engineering experience that will carry over into their future careers.
A hands-on rocketry competition that is accessible to students of all backgrounds and levels will enable students to propel their careers forward. It will give them skills and experience to pursue greater technical challenges. The excitement and energy created by participation in this competition will give students the drive to pursue careers in the spaceflight industry, and the experience gained in participating in it will better prepare them to follow this dream.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).