Florida Tech Student Rocket to Climb 100,000 Feet

– Florida Tech College of Engineering students plan to send a rocket with weather instruments higher into the stratosphere than any student group, ever.
The eight students, most of whom are developing the boosted-dart sounding rocket for their senior project, have been cleared by the FAA for a night launch
of their 25-foot rocket on April 20 at 2 a.m. in Florida City, Florida. The rocket’s target altitude is 100,000 feet (18.9 miles).

The students assembled the Joint Aerospace and Meteorology STratosphere Analysis Rocket (JAMSTAR) with a payload, which contains meteorological
instrumentation. The sensors’ data will be transmitted real-time to a team-designed ground terminal.

The student project manager is Andy Sokol. The team includes students in aerospace engineering (4); meteorology (2); electrical engineering (1); and
computer engineering (1).

The team’s faculty adviser is Dr. Paavo Sepri, Florida Tech associate professor of aerospace engineering. Among other advisers, Greg Peebles, P.E., and
amateur rocketry consultant, is helping the team with rocket assembly; Chris Holland, associate general counsel of United Space Alliance, is assisting with
overall project logistics. The team has also garnered the support of more than 35 sponsors to support the rocket project.

The project’s official Web site is: http://www.fit.edu/projects/jamstar.