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Spaceport America Cup

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Spaceport America Cup 2020

The world's largest intercollegiate rocket engineering competition.

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Forum97
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Summary

Overview

SPACEPORT AMERICA CUP 2020

Over 1,500 students and faculty will gather in Southern New Mexico for the fourth annual Spaceport America Cup in 2020.  Drawn by the opportunity to collaborate and compete at a world class spaceport facility, you represented the best and brightest from more than 70 institutions located all across the USA and around the world. 

Join us as we host hundreds of the worlds most ambitious collegiate rocketeers  in a one of a kind event. Part academic conference and part design-build-fly style competition, the Spaceport America Cup has something to offer students, faculty, industry representatives, and amateur aerospace aficionados alike.

 

The future beckons. 
​How will you answer the call?

Whether you are an academic, an industry representative, a retired professional, or simply a passionate amateur supportive of young minds who seek new horizons... there are many ways you may become a part of an event impacting the future of aerospace...

As a Sponsor...

You will meet with hundreds of talented STEM students from top ranked schools in a professional setting. You will see both them and their hardware perform in real world conditions. Furthermore, you will be helping make possible an event which helps make the best possible candidates for your company! 

As a Volunteer or Judge...

You will join the highly motivated team which brings order to the mess of small puzzle pieces required to build the worlds biggest collegiate rocket engineering conference and competition. From directing crowds to directing launches, and everything in-between, we need your volunteerism at the Spaceport America Cup! 

As a Student... 

You will demonstrate your hard work on an international stage, in front of hundreds of your peers, professors, and prospective employers. You will engage in design-build-fly style rocket and payload engineering competitions in a professional setting, at world class facilities, where the sky is not the limit!


Guidelines

Guidelines for Spaceport America Cup - Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) are hosted on our website! 

In particular, you'll want to review the following documents:

  • IREC Rules and Requirements Document
  • IREC Design, Test, and Evaluation Guide
  • Integrated Master Schedule

www.soundingrocket.org/sa-cup-documents--forms.html

Timeline
Updates40

Challenge Updates

REQUIRED RESPONSE FROM TEAM - GPS Tracking Form Submission

Feb. 26, 2020, 12:58 p.m. PST by Andy

The following google form must be completed by each team.  This information will assist the MCC (Davinci Maker Labs) staff in assisting you through the new GPS tracking process this year.

Please ensure the form is filled out with as much detail as possible.  Respond on the HeroX forums if you have any questions.

 

Click here to begin the Google Form for IREC GPS Tracking:

 

https://forms.gle/7envJBNV97Ys8zbFA


2nd Annual Rocketry Safety Symposium - June 15th-18th, Las Cruces, NM

Jan. 29, 2020, 7:11 p.m. PST by Andy

Hello Everyone! I'd like to let all Spaceport America Cup teams know that there will be a Rocketry Safety Symposium designed specifically for University Environmental Health and Safety departments. This event will be held Monday, June 15th in Las Cruces. Participants will also attend the Tuesday Spaceport America Cup Conference and watch launches on Wednesday at Spaceport America.

Three-day training and experience event for safety professionals who support student organizations involved with competitive Rocketry.
 

Please forward this information on to your school's safety department.

Click here for additional information and registration


New event for 2020 - Team Video Challenge

Dec. 22, 2019, 6:34 p.m. PST by Andy

For the 2020 Spaceport America Cup, a new mini-event will be taking place for the best team video. Teams will submit a compilation video that includes onboard video footage. This video must be between 3-5 minutes long that reviews your team’s year-long journey to the Spaceport Cup, with a finale of your onboard launch video.


In this video, you should include the following

  • A good combination of photos, video and music:
  • Should clearly show a progressive timeline of your team participating in the design, build, test, travel and launch of your project
  • Any community outreach events
  • Answer the question “Why did your team enter the Spaceport America Cup competition?”
  • Answer the question “How has this competition prepared you for a future career?” 
  • Onboard video of launch at the Spaceport Cup - Not required but points will be deducted. 

JUDGING CRITERIA:

  • Professional, entertaining, and inspirational 
  • Quality editing, transitions, artistic scenes, strong story line
  • Visual appeal (good combination of still photos versus live video)
  • Highly recommended to include the boost and recovery portions of the onboard launch video 

SUBMISSION:

Videos must be submitted on a USB stick with your team name and ID number to the Launch Operations Information table no later than 9 a.m. on Saturday 6/20/2020. 

AWARDS CEREMONY:

The top three videos will receive prizes at the closing ceremony. All videos will be played before and after the closing ceremony. The winner will have their video played during the closing ceremony.


2nd Reminder - $200 TEAM ENTRY FEES DUE December 13th (4 days to go)

Dec. 9, 2019, 7:52 a.m. PST by Andy

We have entry fees from 26 teams so far (out of more than 150)...

Please do not wait until the last minute to submit these.

http://www.soundingrocket.org/irec-fees.html

 

 

 


Attention all 30K teams: ESRA Ballistic Entry Tracker payload for your rocket

Dec. 4, 2019, 3:25 p.m. PST by Andy

All 30k teams will be receiving ESRA Ballistic Entry Tracker payloads prior to launch.  This payload is a highly specialized (and very small) system for tracking incoming rockets which have failed to eject their parachutes and are returning in a ballistic, high speed trajectory. 

This system alerts us and allows us to predict potential danger zones for impact.    

30k solid COTS and SRAD teams should plan for including this payload into their projects.

 

For a detailed set of diagrams of the payload, click on the Resources Tab and select the ESRA Ballistic Tracking Package Diagrams


Forum97
Teams1.7K
Resources
FAQ