3 ms·

This is the amateur record, not the civilian one. And while the group may be "student-run", if you check their sponsors page it's funded partly by the universit

by lmm 2y ago

This is the amateur record, not the civilian one. And while the group may be "student-run", if you check their sponsors page it's funded partly by the university and partly by a who's who of the aerospace industry (Boeing and SpaceX are prominent), which I suspect is much easier for a college student group (who make a good feel-good cause, and those companies are implicitly courting to come and work for them) than a group of working adults.

plugger 2y ago
The biggest hurdle (besides knowledge) in an endeavor like this is cost. Those sponsors aren't providing technical expertise. The main 'competitive advantage' USC RPL has developed that enabled this space shot is their in house filament wound carbon fibre cased ammonium perchlorate motors. By swapping comparatively heavy/over engineered aluminum motor casings that are reusable they make single use cf cased motors. I'm pretty sure Boeing and SpaceX aren't the places you go for solid motors.
- echoangle 2y ago
  > Those sponsors aren't providing technical expertise. Do you know that about this specific case? Because I personally know a similar student team where the sponsor absolutely is giving guidance on technical matters.
  - plugger 2y ago
    Look, did they use industry to help them with things like xraying their motor grains to check to confirm they had no voids? possibly. But this team has been at this for nearly 20 years and made their first spaceshot attempt over a decade ago (Traveler I). All of their in house designed and built GPS and radio triangulation electronics failed. It was the COTS stuff that gave them good data. I would think if private industry was doing any heavy lifting for them that wouldn't have occurred. They've blown up a lot of their motors in testing to get to their R class motor they used here. I also doubt that would have been the case if they were getting private sector assistance.
monksy 2y ago
Not only that but they're a self organizing team. Unlike the professional world they want to be there, they're not getting selected out due to vibe checks/leetcode proficiency or filtered out due to comp ask. Also they don't have business dictating design or trying to ban engineering practices.

by lmm 2y ago

plugger 2y ago

The biggest hurdle (besides knowledge) in an endeavor like this is cost. Those sponsors aren't providing technical expertise. The main 'competitive advantage' USC RPL has developed that enabled this space shot is their in house filament wound carbon fibre cased ammonium perchlorate motors. By swapping comparatively heavy/over engineered aluminum motor casings that are reusable they make single use cf cased motors. I'm pretty sure Boeing and SpaceX aren't the places you go for solid motors.

echoangle 2y ago
> Those sponsors aren't providing technical expertise. Do you know that about this specific case? Because I personally know a similar student team where the sponsor absolutely is giving guidance on technical matters.
- plugger 2y ago
  Look, did they use industry to help them with things like xraying their motor grains to check to confirm they had no voids? possibly. But this team has been at this for nearly 20 years and made their first spaceshot attempt over a decade ago (Traveler I). All of their in house designed and built GPS and radio triangulation electronics failed. It was the COTS stuff that gave them good data. I would think if private industry was doing any heavy lifting for them that wouldn't have occurred. They've blown up a lot of their motors in testing to get to their R class motor they used here. I also doubt that would have been the case if they were getting private sector assistance.

monksy 2y ago

Not only that but they're a self organizing team. Unlike the professional world they want to be there, they're not getting selected out due to vibe checks/leetcode proficiency or filtered out due to comp ask. Also they don't have business dictating design or trying to ban engineering practices.