Spaceport America Cup Project

The Spaceport America Cup (SAC) project team competes in the 30,000 ft Student Researched and Developed, Solid Motor category at the Spaceport America Cup. In Summer 2017, BSLI won first place for this category, successfully launching an 8.8 lb payload closer to 30,000 ft than any other competing team.

This year, the team is going to put a stronger emphasis on the durability of critical components and ease of integration (putting the whole rocket together). Systems will also be designed with long-term, high-altitude goals in mind, ensuring the survivability of the vehicle, the success of the flight, and flying to an altitude as close to 30,000 ft as possible.

Below is a brief synopsis of the various sub-teams that make up BSLI’s SAC project team:

The 30,000 ft competition category is a significant challenge, as it is very difficult to reach that height. The 30k rocket attains a max speed above Mach 1.5 on a motor with a total impulse of ~20,000 Ns.
Despite the 30k rocket’s issues during the 2018 and 2019 competitions, the team has improved over the last year by leaps and bounds. Every sub-team has been developing new methods for design and construction of their respective components and cultivating useful experience. This next year should be the best year yet for BSLI 30k!


Aerodynamics: Using various computational tools including SolidWorks and ANSYS Fluent, the aerodynamics team works to predict the flight path of the rocket and optimize the shape of aerodynamic components like the nosecone, transition piece, and fins.	Recovery: The recovery team ensures the rocket undergoes a controlled descent. In prior years, the team’s parachute system was not demonstrated to be 100% reliable. This year the team will focus on redesigning the recovery system to ensure complete success and a repeatable opening sequence.

Structures: The structures team is primarily responsible for the construction of the rocket airframe. The team focuses on using aerospace industry-level manufacturing techniques to assist in creating parts out of composites such as carbon fiber or fiberglass.	Avionics: The avionics team is responsible for collecting flight data and transmitting it live, down to a ground station. The avionics team handles the rest of the rocket’s electronics, including flight computers, cameras, remote arming, and more.

Propulsion: The propulsion team researches, develops, and tests solid rocket fuel propellant formulations with the purpose of creating a rocket motor capable of lifting the approximately 70-pound vehicle to 30,000 ft.	Payload: The payload team is the scientific portion of the project. This year, the payload is focusing on studying the survivability of microorganisms in the unique conditions that a high-acceleration rocket launch provides.