Since it began in 2015 the Midwest Rocket Launch (MRL) competition, organized by the Minnesota Space Grant Consortium (MnSGC), has grown larger and larger every year. Attended by schools from across the country, such as Virginia Tech, Kent State, and USC, MRL has gained quite a bit of attention and focus from members of AIAA UW-Madison. Launching out of a sod farm in North Branch, MN, this competition has new, exciting, and rather challenging tasks for students to engineer around. AIAA plans to continue to compete in this competition in the following years. Some of the competition objectives are as follows:
- 2016: Design and construct a model rocket which makes use of an active drag system. Fly the rocket twice, using the drag system to, as best as possible, reach 60% of the first flight’s altitude, with at least 3000 ft. altitude.
- 2017: Design and construct a model rocket which makes use of an active drag system and a J and K-class motor. Slow the flight of the larger motor to, as best as possible, match the altitude of the smaller motor, with at least 3500 ft. altitude.
- 2018: TBA October 2017
If you are interested in joining the 2018 MRL team please attend the first AIAA of the upcoming fall semester.
