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Sponsored by the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC), Florida
Space Institute (FSI) and the North East Florida Association of
Rocketry (NEFAR)

The objective of the competition is to build and launch a hybrid
powered rocket. There are two categories of competition to choose from.
The first category consists of launching a hybrid rocket to the maximum
altitude. The second category challenges the teams to fly their rocket
closest to 2000 feet in altitude.

Twenty teams from ten Florida universities participated in this program!

2015-16 WINNERS

Maximum Altitude

First Place: University of West Florida Argonauts Max
Second Place: Florida Institute of Technology Max Altitude
Third Place: University of Miami RocketCanes

Closest to 2000 feet

First Place: University of West Florida Argonauts 2K
Second Place: Florida Institute of Technology Precision
Third Place: University of Florida Hybrid Gators

2015-16 Participating Universities

1. University of North Florida (1 Team)
2. University of Miami (1 Team)
3. Florida Institute of Technology (2 Teams)
4. University of West Florida (2 Teams)
5. University of South Florida (4 Teams)
6. Florida International University (3 Teams)
7. University of Central Florida (2 Teams)
8. University of Florida (2 Teams)
9. Eastern Florida State College (1 Team)
10. Florida Atlantic University (2 Teams)

NASA Engineering Challenges, operated by the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium, provides an incredible opportunity to students from three different Community Colleges in Florida to become directly involved with NASA and earn a $5,000 stipend.

The program engages students in a STEM Education program focused on introductory versions of NASA’s traditional challenges/projects targeted at four year universities.

The challenges include: building a high altitude balloon experiment, constructing a robotic vehicle, and launching a hydro-powered rocket.

The NASA Engineering Challenges program culminates in students traveling to the Kennedy Space Center and participating in an “Olympic” style event in which they compete on teams in the three different technical challenges.

This particular video documents a brief portion of the Robotics Vehicle Challenge.

Sponsored by the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC), Florida, Space Institute (FSI) and the North East Florida Association of Rocketry (NEFAR)

The objective of the competition is to build and launch a hybrid powered rocket. There are two categories of competition to choose from. The first category consists of launching a hybrid rocket to the maximum altitude. The second category challenges the teams to fly their rocket closest to 2000 feet in altitude.

Twenty-four teams from ten Florida universities participated in this program!

2014-15 WINNERS

Maximum Altitude

First Place: University of Central Florida (MAED Maximum Thrust Team)
Second Place: University of South Florida (SOAR Peregrine Team)
Third Place: University of West Florida (Electrocketers2 Team)

Closest to 2000 feet

First Place: Florida Institute of Technology (Ace Team)
Second Place: University of West Florida (Argonauts1 Team)
Third Place: University of South Florida (SOAR Taurus Team)

2014-15 PARTICIPATING UNIVERSITIES

1. University of Central Florida (3 teams)
2. University of Florida (2 teams)
3. University of Miami (1 team)
4. University of West Florida (4 teams)
5. Florida International University (1 team)
6. Florida Institute of Technology (4 teams)
7. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (1 team)
8. University of South Florida (5 teams)
9. University of North Florida (1 team)
10. Florida Atlantic University (2 teams)

This challenge will help you learn the basics of rocketry. The rocket itself is very simple and is powered by water. You will be provided with software to modify the design of the rocket and each college will be provided with a test stand where you can do static testing of your rocket. The actual competition will involve launching the rocket, with the right amount of fuel and pressure, so that it reaches closest to 150 feet. The idea of this challenge is not to build a powerful rocket, but to master the basics of rocketry so that you can build high powered rockets in the future. You will be provided a rocketry kit to help you construct the rocket.

In this challenge, each college will combine both their teams to design and build an experiment that will be launched in a weather balloon during the competition. You will be provided with several sensors like Ultraviolet sensors or Solar Cells, etc., and will then design and build a scientific experiment within the limits of the launch vehicle. In this case, the launch vehicle is a weather balloon which can carry your experiment up to an altitude of 100,000 feet! There will be a limit to the weight of your experiment and how much power it can consume. You will be provided with all the necessary background to design and build such an experiment. The enclosure that will house the experiment will also be provided. The weather balloon will carry 3 cameras and you will receive a DVD of the video feeds from all cameras.

Experience the challenges involved in remotely operating a rover on a distant moon or planet. Students participating in this challenge will be provided with a LEGO Mindstorm kit to build a rover that can perform certain tasks. Instructions will be provided, including a basic minimum framework. You can build on this framework to make your rover as complicated as possible. For the actual competition, your team will have to maneuver the rover remotely, as the rover will be on a simulated lunar surface in another room. There will be a 2 second lag in receiving the video feed to simulate real time signals coming from the moon.

HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON EXPERIMENT

In this challenge, each college will combine both their teams to design
and build an experiment that will be launched in a weather balloon
during the competition. You will be provided with several sensors like
Ultraviolet sensors or Solar Cells, etc., and will then design and
build a scientific experiment within the limits of the launch vehicle.
In this case, the launch vehicle is a weather balloon which can carry
your experiment up to an altitude of 100,000 feet! There will be a
limit to the weight of your experiment and how much power it can
consume. You will be provided with all the necessary background to
design and build such an experiment. The enclosure that will house the
experiment will also be provided. The weather balloon will carry 3
cameras and you will receive a DVD of the video feeds from all cameras

The NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium, Telefonica's Talentum Schools,
SATLANTIS, and the University of Florida presents a space-related
education program for teams from Spain and Florida that involves
designing, building, and flying scientific payloads.

Team Charlie - the winning design team (made up of three students from
Gainesville, Florida and three students from Madrid, Spain) -
participated in this two-week workshop in Florida culminating in the
launch of their payload on a weather balloon.

The NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium, Telefonica's Talentum Schools, SATLANTIS, and the University of Florida presents a space-related education program for teams from Spain and Florida that involves designing, building, and flying scientific payloads.

Team Charlie - the winning design team (made up of three students from Gainesville, Florida and three students from Madrid, Spain) - participated in this two-week workshop in Florida culminating in the launch of their payload on a weather balloon.

A winning design team from University High School in Orlando, Florida also participated in this two-week workshop in Florida culminating in the launch of their payload on a weather balloon.

The NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium, Telefonica's Talentum Schools,
SATLANTIS, and the University of Florida presents a space-related
education program for teams from Spain and Florida that involves
designing, building, and flying scientific payloads.

Team Charlie - the winning design team (made up of three students from
Gainesville, Florida and three students from Madrid, Spain) -
participated in this two-week workshop in Florida culminating in the
launch of their payload on a weather balloon.

A winning design team from University High School in Orlando, Florida
also participated in this two-week workshop in Florida culminating in
the launch of their payload on a weather balloon.