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Rockets and moon buggies
There is a close association between space related projects, engineering, and engineers. We have considered this more than once in Control Engineering in the context of the greater engineering skills gap, and we will again.
Today there are two cases in point.
First, there is a group of really serious model rocket builders who get together for periodic launching events. An article in today's Chicago Tribune discusses one such meeting of the Rocketry Organization of California in the Lucerne dry lake. These aren't your little Estes back-yard whizzers. The event demands special high-altitude clearance from the FAA. One rocket described in the article is 10 feet tall and weighs 126 pounds. Another guy is still working on one that will be 45 feet long, which he thinks will achieve speeds of Mach 1.1. (That's supersonic.) These creations burn the same solid fuel as the Space Shuttle, which draws the attention of federal ATF officials.
Second, right now there are teams of high school and college students designing and building vehicles for NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race, April 4-5 in Huntsville, AL. If you're interested, you still have until February 1 to enter. These are human-powered vehicles that have to race against the clock across a simulated lunar surface.
"The experience is more than just fun," says Tammy Rowan, academic affairs manager for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. "Participation in the race offers valuable real-world experience in practical engineering, teamwork and problem solving. These talented, creative young minds learn lessons they'll take back with them to the classroom, and hopefully onward throughout their careers and lives."
Participants in the rocketry group talk about the special thing that drives them. I suspect the same motivations also apply to some of the buggy builders. "We refer to it as the bug," says Andy Tryon, the guy who built the 10 footer. "Either it bites you or it doesn't. But when it bites, it bites in a big way. Did for me."
Engineers have their bugs. Some are certainly more drastic than others.
Rockets and moon buggies
January 18, 2008
There is a close association between space related projects, engineering, and engineers. We have considered this more than once in Control Engineering in the context of the greater engineering skills gap, and we will again.Today there are two cases in point.
First, there is a group of really serious model rocket builders who get together for periodic launching events. An article in today's Chicago Tribune discusses one such meeting of the Rocketry Organization of California in the Lucerne dry lake. These aren't your little Estes back-yard whizzers. The event demands special high-altitude clearance from the FAA. One rocket described in the article is 10 feet tall and weighs 126 pounds. Another guy is still working on one that will be 45 feet long, which he thinks will achieve speeds of Mach 1.1. (That's supersonic.) These creations burn the same solid fuel as the Space Shuttle, which draws the attention of federal ATF officials.
Second, right now there are teams of high school and college students designing and building vehicles for NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race, April 4-5 in Huntsville, AL. If you're interested, you still have until February 1 to enter. These are human-powered vehicles that have to race against the clock across a simulated lunar surface.
"The experience is more than just fun," says Tammy Rowan, academic affairs manager for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. "Participation in the race offers valuable real-world experience in practical engineering, teamwork and problem solving. These talented, creative young minds learn lessons they'll take back with them to the classroom, and hopefully onward throughout their careers and lives."
Participants in the rocketry group talk about the special thing that drives them. I suspect the same motivations also apply to some of the buggy builders. "We refer to it as the bug," says Andy Tryon, the guy who built the 10 footer. "Either it bites you or it doesn't. But when it bites, it bites in a big way. Did for me."
Engineers have their bugs. Some are certainly more drastic than others.
Posted by Peter Welander on January 18, 2008 | Comments (0)
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