The Akronauts, The University of Akron's student rocket-design team, placed third out of 45 teams overall at the recent 2019 NASA Student Launch Competition at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama in April.
This is the highest the team has placed – ever.
Team members Noah McLeod, Lance Rosko, Emily Armbrust, and Jadon Vanyo
Placing third is a huge accomplishment for the team and The University of Akron. Founded in 2014, the Akronauts were relatively new to the rocketry game. Since the beginning, they have competed against much larger, much more established teams from schools internationally known for their aerospace engineering programs. These universities include The United States Naval Academy, Vanderbilt University, California State Polytechnic University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
At the competition, teams are tasked with designing, building and testing a rocket and payload while meeting multiple documentation and review milestones with NASA rocketry experts.
“This year marks a very significant point in our development as a team. Through hard work and determination, we achieved four successful launches, a successful flight of our student piloted 国产伦理V drone, and produced over 1,000 pages of technical reports for NASA,” says Jonathan Davis, the team’s vice-president. “We took the team to the next level and are excited to continue building a tradition of winning.”
Preliminary results released in April included the following additional awards: third place in the Best Vehicle Design Award, second place for STEM Engagement Award, and tied for third place in the Best-Looking Rocket Award.
“Our objective from this point on is to show the rest of the nation that The University of Akron is the team to beat at competition,” says Davis.
The team is led by faculty advisor Dr. Frank Loth.
Well done, team. Well done.
- Learn more about the Akronauts and how they prepared for competition.
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