Just this past week I had the opportunity to ask the Daedalus Astronautics @ ASU Team who they are and what they are about. For those of you who are interested in astronautics and you are planning on attending Arizona State University, this article should prove to be quite insightful. As an added bonus, the Daedalus Astronautics @ ASU Team will be at the School of Earth and Space Exploration's "Earth & Space Exploration Day 2009" at the Arizona State University main campus, in Tempe, on October 24, 2009. This event is free and all are welcome to come and learn about the sciences.
I am interviewing James Kendall Villarreal, an instructor at Arizona State University who specializes in rocket propulsion and who is the Project Manager for Daedalus Astronautics @ ASU.
Examiner: What is the name of the organization you are a part of and how long has it been around?
Daedalus Astronautics @ ASU
Started in 2003: 6 years old
Examiner: Where does your group hold its meetings?
Normally in our labspace in the RSS4 hangar.
Examiner: How often does your group meet?
Daedalus is comprised of many subgroups that set their own meeting times. We do have regular meetings at least twice a week. For the most part there is someone in the lab every day.
Examiner: How much is membership?
Daedalus is free to join as we are pretty well funded by our sponsors; Raytheon Missile Systems being our title sponsor. However, sometimes students are expected to pay their own way for certain travel events, though not all.
Examiner: What fun activities does your group get involved with?
As an added plus to just designing and building rockets, Daedalus members get to travel to actually launch their rockets. This includes yearly competitions in such places as Utah and Alabama, though we have traveled to California and Nevada in the past to launch rockets in addition to our launch site in Arizona. Members are also invited to test fires of our custom built solid rocket motors and hybrid rockets motors at our test site in Florence, AZ.
Members are encouraged to submit papers to the regional American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) student conferences which is held in a different western state every year. The past two years Daedalus has won first place in the team division and has been sent on an expense paid trip to Orlando, FL to participate in theInternational AIAA Student Conference. This year one undergraduate from Daedalus is being sent to South Korea to present his work as well. Lastly, Daedalus has a very aggressive K-12 outreach program. Members travel to different schools to teach the fundamentals of rocketry and help students build and launch their own small model rockets.
Examiner: How many members does your group have?
Currently, Daedalus is made up of over 30 members, though our ranks continue to grow every year.
Examiner: Do you work with other community organizations within Phoenix?
In the past Daedalus has been heavily involved in K-12 outreach. In that regard we have aligned with many schools to perform our education outreach activities. Daedalus is also heavily aligned with the local AIAA branch. In fact, most Daedalus members are AIAA student members and attend meetings and professional conferences regularly.
Examiner: What was the coolest thing that your group has been involved in?
The coolest thing we’ve done (and continue to do) is travel to rocket competitions and AIAA conferences and represent ASU. Throughout the years, ASU is steadily being known as a powerhouse for high powered rocketry and it’s a great feeling to be part of such a group.
Examiner: What are the main goals of your group?
Daedalus furthers the engineering education of ASU students through the hands-on design and manufacture of high powered sounding rockets, as well as promotes engineering to the community.
Examiner: What upcoming events will your group be a part of?
BALLS World-class Experimental Rocketry launch – October 2nd to 4th, 2009.
Earth and Space Exploration Day (ASU, Tempe campus) - October 24th, 2009.
Senior Day -October 24th, 2009.
Explore Event -October 30th, 2009.
NASA University Student Launch Initiative (USLI) – April, 2010.
Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) Intercollegiate Rocket Launch – May, 2010.
And a variety of outreach events…
For more info: James Kendall Villarreal, Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto
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