UW AIAA achieves 2nd place at Spaceport America Cup in New Mexico

In their second year competing in the Spaceport America Cup, the UW-Madison chapter of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) soared to new heights, taking 2^nd place in the Space Dynamics Laboratory payload challenge. Their success comes after a year of hard work designing and building a new rocket based on modifications and feedback from last year’s competition. Their rocket, proudly named ‘Hyperion,’ stands at 11 ft. 6 in. tall, weighs 45.5 lbs., and reached an altitude of 11,470 ft., 1,470 ft. higher than the team’s goal of 10,000. Out of 152 teams in the competition, the UW-Madison chapter placed 58^th overall and launched 5^th, showcasing their preparation and initiative. 

Hard Work Pay(load)s Off

The payload, which won this team their 2^nd place finish in the Space Dynamics Laboratory payload challenge, was designed by the Badger Ballistics team, made up of John Krueger, Isaac Becker, Kaden Reybrock, Cam Schultz, and Andy Rivedal. The objective of the payload is to measure a changing magnetic field using quantum photonics in the environment of a sounding rocket. This year’s payload system is a continuation of the payload from last year’s competition, with the goal of improving the design and including additional capabilities. The quantum photonic system was inspired and advised by Assistant Professor Jennifer Choy of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering.

The quantum photonic system acts as a magnetometer by utilizing the following components:

• an engineered diamond with a nitrogen-vacancy center,
• a green light-emitting diode,
• a photodiode sensitive specifically to wavelengths of red light,
• and a Helmholtz coil.

When hit with a green wavelength laser, this specialized diamond emits light in the visible red spectrum. The intensity of this emitted light is proportional to the scalar magnitude of the diamond’s local magnetic field. The diamond was created in the UW-Madison Nuclear Reactor facility.

Rising to the Challenge

The AIAA chapter’s success did not come without its challenges though. 3-weeks prior to the competition in New Mexico, during a test launch several systems failed requiring a complete rebuild and redesign of multiple subsystems. Julia Thormann, AIAA president and a Spring 2024 graduate of the Engineering Mechanics + Aerospace program, commented, “our team was able to still pull together and bring a finished product to the competition that solved each of the issues that occurred on the test flight.”

Unfortunately, during the competition, the rocket did descend under the drogue parachute, but an eyebolt from a commercial part came undone, leading to the booster section free-falling from 1,000 feet. This freefall led to two of the rocket’s fins breaking and the team losing several points for what is considered ‘extensive damage.’ Even with the challenges the group faced, Thormann still proclaimed the launch a tremendous success and looks at these unforeseen problems as learning lessons for the team to build on and improve. 

The team would like to express their sincere gratitude to the UW-Madison departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, as well as Onshape, ATA, Blue Origin, Milwaukee Tool, and AVCO Valve for their support. They are looking forward to seeing what improvements and new ideas the team will implement this upcoming year.

Special thank you to Julia Thormann, Kaden Reybrock, and Brita Lieving for sharing all photos, payload information, and recap details.

View a livestream of the rocket launch, timestamp 3:24:42 (team 143).

View the team receiving their 2^nd place award at the award ceremony.

See fun documentation of the entire experience via UW AIAA on Instagram.