The MIT Rocket Team is currently working on testing hybrid rocket motors, launching high-powered amateur rockets, and the annual IAP engine competition.

The team is composed of undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral students, staff and alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since the team's inception in December 1998 it has become one of the most popular research projects on campus with over 100 volunteer participants, with roughly 12-20 people active at any time. The project stands as a symbol of achievement in hands-on educ ation in the fields of design engineering, systems engineering, project management, and fund-raising .

History

The MIT Rocket Team formed in an effort to become the first student group to launch a rocket into space. Begun in 1998, the team has developed a new type of rocket engine, and is currently in the process of testing the engine design. These tests will be used to improve the rocket design, with the goal of launching a sub-orbital vehicle to a height of 200 kilometers from Wallops Island in 2002. The MIT Rocket Team was originally inspired by the Cheap Access To Space (CATS) Prize (which expired in Nov. 2000). Our paramount goal is to make tangible steps toward decreasing the cost of space access while providing a fun, "hands-on" educational project for students.

Some of the team's achievements include:

• Built & tested 3 liquid bipropellant rocket engines
• Sponsored 7 UROPs over 3 years
• 2 Master's Theses have been written on the project

The team is currently designing the 4th engine. We are also a technical advisory resource for the MIT/AIA sponsored entry into the Team America Rocketry competition. Our current work is focused on five efforts:

• Design of a small Liquid oxygen pump for our next engine
• Launching of a 14 foot tall solid propellant rocket
• Development of a "Virtual Presence" camera package payload
• Development of a reliable spark ignition system for the engine
• Collaboration with the Boston Museum of Science on a couple of interactive exibits/presentations about the Rocket Team's projects.

In addition to being a wonderfully educational project for the participants, through the course of our work we are pioneering a number of new aerospace technologies (including a new type of rocket engine) that could lead to dramatically reduced launch costs which have the potential to reshape the industry.  It is our hope that some of the technologies we are investigating will find their way into the commercial launch vehicle industry for the benefit of all humankind.

We will be updating these pages on an ongoing basis, so be sure to check back often. If you would like to receive announcements of updates, email cats-web@mit.edu