Why would a researcher ever put an experiment onto a rocket?

Rocket payload (cargo) undergoes a wide range of extreme effects that are difficult or impossible to achieve on Earth's surface. Very high g-forces, microgravity, space radiation, changes in magnetism, and other possible conditions experienced during a launch and in space are very unique. Also, sending things into space is awesome!

What are the rocket and flight like?

The LaunchQuest payload on the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL™ sounding rocket (the picture on the left side of the screen) can accommodate up to forty-two experiment containers - called “T-SATs” (Tiny SATellites)™ - that will hold a variety of investigations from several disciplines including materials science, biological and life sciences, chemistry, physics, and environmental science. The flight environment encountered by the experiments, from the moment of rocket burn to touch-down, is absolutely unique for every flight. Here are some typical conditions:

• The Up Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket: 20.0 feet tall, 10.4-inch diameter, single-stage 6061 T6 aluminum vehicle with solid rocket propellant
• Payload Capacity: 110 pounds
• Typical Apogee: 72 miles (max. possible: 140 miles), T+2.53 minutes; payload separation at 265,000 feet (50.3 miles), T+4.0 minutes
• Microgravity Time / Time in “Space”: ~5 minutes
• Total Flight Time: 15.1 minutes
• Travel Range: 35.2 miles
• Velocity: 0.964 mile per second (3,470 miles per hour) at booster burnout (T+12.1 s)
• Load: Ascent maximum: 18.5g (radial) – spins at 6.9 cps, 16.0g (axial). During re-entry: 5-7g; deceleration. At touchdown, -60g (axial) for ~0.25 seconds.
• Payload Temperature: 80–120 degrees F typical; <150 degrees F maximum
• Pressure: Internal pressure matches external pressure due to vent holes; at apogee, P<0.01 atmospheres, payload is exposed to the vacuum of space
• Acoustic Exposure: <110 dB, a variety of acoustic frequencies and amplitudes
• Radio Frequency and Radiation Exposure: 50-W, 5.8GHz radar transponder in airframe; payload exposure to other forms of radiation will vary according to solar flare conditions

What kinds of experiments are flown?

Many of the experiments are passive "fly and compare" experiments. As part of that experimental process, teams are required to maintain control samples that are identical to the flight experiment. Other types of experiments are active “monitoring” experiments, where some parameter (such as ozone) is monitored during the rocket flight. When experiments are returned after the launch, students with fly and compare experiments will compare flight samples to ground samples to determine any effects caused by microgravity, radiation, magnetism, and other possible circumstances experienced during space flight. Students with monitoring experiments will analyze and interpret recorded data. Click here to see the most recent template required of LaunchQuest teams.

Do the experiments have to be sophisticated or unique?

No. Click here to see questions past LaunchQuest students have pursued. The quality and sophistication of the questions varies (with grade level playing a significant role). Many have put their own spins on previous ideas and included commemorative items. What the questions have in common is that they engaged and excited students, stimulated their curiosity, and generated further interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and entrepreneurship. There are a few constraints on experimental design: 1) the materials cannot pose a safety hazard, 2) the equipment cannot potentially interfere with the operation of the rocket or another experiment on it, and 3) the experiment must fit in (and stay in!) its container, the T-SAT, which is a wedge-shaped plastic box -- a sometimes challenging engineering task (interesting fact: the T-SAT was designed by Southington High School LaunchQuest team to allow for space to be used more efficiently on the rocket).

What program resources are available?

CCAT supplies school groups with T-SAT containers, extensive resource libraries, collaborative software tools, technical support, and hands-on/minds-on activities. Teachers can attend a full-day LaunchQuest symposium to help equip them to facilitate student participation. Upon acceptance into the LaunchQuest Program, participants receive credentials to log in to CATAPULT, CCAT's online education portal, to access all of these resources and tools.

LaunchQuest is a program of: