Rocketry Planet

CROSS PLAINS, Texas USA — West Texas may seem an unlikely destination for dozens of engineering students from universities as far away as Istanbul and Hawaii, but the fact that it's a perfect site for launching rockets means it's exactly where they want to be.

A demonstration rocket shoots into the air during the CanSat competition on Saturday, June 11, 2011, in Cross Plains. Photo: Thomas Metthe.

University of Michigan students Brandon Heidt and Erek Walker look over the CODE-A2-Blue team's rocket before its launch during the CanSat competition Saturday in Cross Plains. Photo: Thomas Metthe.

Heidt assembles part of the CODE-A2-Blue team's rocket before its launch during the CanSat competition. Photo: Thomas Metthe.

Members of the University of Michigan's CODE-A2-Blue team work on their rocket before its launch during the CanSat competition on Saturday, June 11, 2011, in Cross Plains. Photo: Thomas Metthe.

A ranch close to this Callahan County town was the site of this year's CanSat Competition, an international rocket contest for university students.

Open space and plenty of recovery area is what makes it ideal, according to the contest's director, Ivan Galysh. He said the event acts as a small program for students who hope to have aerospace careers later in life. The low-budget simulation allows students to spend an extended period of time building a space-type system based on a specific mission.

Seventeen teams of students, many of whom had never been to Texas — much less a rural area near Cross Plains, huddled under tents Saturday morning to make final adjustments before their scheduled launch times.

Students make satellites to the specifications of a particular mission, according to Galysh. They carry out the project independently, he said, from building a prototype to post-launch analyses.

"There are mechanical, software, electrical and aerospace engineers, all working together," he said, "Hands-on is really where they learn."

Although it's a unique learning experience, Galysh said it also can be stressful. Several teams dropped out days before the competition.

"They just fall apart," he said. "Things go wrong, and they just fall apart."

Several student teams appeared to be feeling some of the stress before their launches.

Stanley Weber is a 25-year-old engineering student at Honolulu's Kapiolani Community College. He competed on a team of 10 students last year, but this year's team was only a quartet. The competition is stressful, he said, and the level of difficulty can discourage some of his peers from participating.

The team began planning last summer, he said, and ordered parts for the project last winter. Even with a year of preparation behind them, he said he didn't feel ready.

"We definitely need more time," he said. "I would say we're about 80 percent ready."

Although Weber and his team may be able to breathe a little easier after their launch, the competition won't be over until a post-mission summary and debrief today.

That's when University of Michigan aerospace engineering junior Brandon Heidt will find out if his team of peers performed better this year than an opposing team from their own university.

The level of competition seemed more intense for his team due to two competing teams out of the same campus.

"We want to see them succeed" he smiled, "just slightly less."

Heidt said the 22-hour drive to the launch site probably added extra anxiety to the team, but they were looking forward to seeing the result of a year's worth of work.

According to Heidt, the competition offers design experience that is unmatched within the classroom. Classmate Erek Walker agreed. He said it's a rare opportunity to see a project through from beginning to end and try your hand at designing, building and testing components.

"It's definitely something that we'll be using," Walker said. "It's great practice."

Copyright © 2011, Abilene Reporter-News.