Career Connections at SAVY 2019: Session 1, Day 1 – Aerospace Engineering (Rising 7th)

Posted by hallep on Monday, July 8, 2019 in Grade 7, SAVY.

Monday was a fast-paced introduction to the world of Aerospace Engineering! In our first day, students learned the differences between engineering and science, and the interrelation between. We established that as engineers, our goal is to solve problems using design. This begged the question, what are the problems that we will solve!? Mission goals were announced, and students split into teams to target and solve the problems ahead.

The first two teams chose to reach target altitudes with limited thrust capability. Using the second smallest engine, these groups will need to design sleek, aerodynamic rockets that tune their drag and weight to reach apogee within 10 feet of their 100 foot high target. To assess accuracy, the students built hand-held altimeters that would determine the polar angle of the rocket at apogee. Combined with the lateral distance to the apogee point, which students found by triangulating the position, students will apply trigonometric functions to calculate the peak altitude.

The second two teams opted for a challenging recovery system. These groups would need to design robust, yet lightweight rockets that use streamers to slow their descent to the earth. Despite their project constraints, these teams will need to design a vehicle that can be safely recovered and reused.

Following a morning of rigorous lecture and a lesson on trigonometry, the students were thrown into the simulation room where they learned to use a CAD (computer-aided design) and modeling program to design rockets. This software will be critical for the days to follow…