Lockheed Martin Donates to Florida Tech Senior Projects

– Lockheed Martin has donated $2,100 to the Florida Tech Senior Design Capstone project team, SERRA (Supersonic Experimental and Recoverable Rocket
Assembly). Jeff Quinn of Lockheed Martin Astronautics and Rick Horner, Lockheed Martin Technical Operations Strategic Space and Payload Services, awarded
the check to Laura Slovey, SERRA team director. The donation was made at a university luncheon in late January, which was also attended by College of
Engineering faculty and dean Dr. Ron Bailey.

The nine-member SERRA team is designing and building a rocket, which members plan to launch at least 100,000 feet in early April. “We hope to make our
project the largest, most powerful student/amateur rocket ever launched,” said Slovey. The rocket’s payload will be integrated with an autonomous recovery
system to allow the team to quickly locate the payload when it lands back on the ground.

Eight aerospace engineering seniors and one electrical engineering senior compose the SERRA team, with over a dozen other students supporting the project.
The primary faculty advisor is Dr. Paavo Sepri, Florida Tech associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Three faculty from the Indiana
Institute of Technology are also assisting the team.

Lockheed Martin’s gift will be used primarily for parts and materials.

The senior design project is mandatory for College of Engineering students. It is designed to be results-oriented and to
help engineering graduates understand the business side as well as the technical side of their work.
PHOTO: (L to R) Jeff Quinn, Lockheed Martin Astronautics; Laura Slovey, SERRA Team director; and Rick Horner, Lockheed Martin Technical Operations
Strategic Space and Payload Services