UTSA | Catalyst 2020-2021
Propelling Experiential Learning
UTSA’s NASA Student Launch team aims high By Bruce Forey
A team of UTSA students has been selected by NASA to compete in a prestigious rocket-building competition. The NASA Student Launch is an eight-month challenge managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UTSA was one of only 32 U.S. universities and colleges selected for the 2021 challenge. Student Launch gives aspiring rocketeers a unique opportunity to follow the design process that NASA and industry engineers use when developing and operating new hardware. The student teams are required to design, build, test and fly a high-powered amateur rocket to an altitude of 3,500 to 5,500 feet. This year the college/university division teams will tackle a new payload challenge. The rocket design will include a lander to be deployed during the rocket’s descent. This device must leave the rocket at an altitude of 500 to 1,000 feet above ground and then land, upright and level. But that’s not all: The lander must also take a 360-degree panoramic photo and transmit it to its team. 8
