KY EPSCoR: KY Space Grant MG-23-017: 2024 McCracken County Rocket Club

2023-2024 McCracken County Rocket Club Alex Senig PI: John F. Maddox Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Kentucky ABSTRACT The University of Kentucky (UK) Paducah Campus American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Student Section will be mentoring a McCracken County Rocket Club for high school students. There are two primary goal for this club: to provide instruction in the design, construction, and operation of model rockets to McCracken county high school students and to foster an appreciation and interest in aerospace engineering. Students will be taught basic aerodynamics and will gain experience in fabrication techniques such as 3D printing and wood working. Each team will have the opportunity to build prepackaged model rockets and eventually design and build their own using what they learn from their mentors. The designs for each teams’ model rocket will be constrained by the competition parameters set forth by the The American Rocketry Challenge (TARC). This is the national competition held each year in Northern Virginia where 100 teams design a rocket that can fly to a certain altitude and land within a specific time frame while carrying a payload. A part of the funding from this mini-grant would support the purchase of materials and supplies that will be used in the construction for each team’s model rocket, and the registration for the competition. The remainder of the mini-grant would be used for travel and lodging for any teams that successfully qualify for the national competition in Virginia. 1