www.uwosh.edu/hpr

My name is Drew Farwell, and I'm the student director of the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh's (UWO) student conceived High Powered Rocketry Project. Our goal is to design, build and fly a high powered rocket capable of breaking the current world record altitude of 73.1 miles and speed of 3,580 mph (Mach 4.66). Doing so will take us past the Karman Line (62 miles) and establish a bonafide space program at UWO, potentially making us the first university in the U.S. to reach space. 

We need your help. Stanford, Boston University and UC-San Diego (in addition to several other universities) have all entered the university space race. Some have budgets in excess of $100,000. We simply do not have budget to effectively compete with those universities. 

What we do have is a rock solid mission plan and a demonstrated record of success. Unlike several teams who have decided to try to make the leap from model rocketry to space (some attempting flights as early as this Spring), I have taken a more methodical approach and successfully obtained my level 1 and level 2 high powered rocketry (HPR) certifications through the National Association of Rocketry.  

In the Spring of 2016, while other teams will be using untested experimental designs and potentially blowing up tens of thousands of dollars on the launch pad in spectacular fashion, I will be utilizing my NAR level 2 HPR certification to record a Supersonic flight (900mph) and break the 2 mile altitude marker on an L impulse rocket motor that generates almost 1,150 lbs of thrust. 

In the Fall of 2016, I will be attempting my level 3 NAR certification flight, opening the door to O impulse motors that generate 9,210 lbs of thrust. 

The current world record was set with an S impulse motor that produced almost 147,000 lbs of thrust. 

I believe there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. In a rush to be the first, many programs have chosen to forgo the lengthy certification process in favor of far less regulated methods (hybrid motors) that have been popularized on TV shows. When you look at the increase in power from one certification level to the next though, the reason the certification process exists becomes apparent: experience with model rockets cannot simply be upscaled.

 This means that custom aircraft grade aluminum and carbon fiber parts must be hand crafted. Materials analysis must be performed. Static engine tests must be utilized. Custom launching and stabilization mechanisms must be built. NASA cannot simply buy parts of the shelf for its space program, and neither can we.  

Your donation to this project today means that progress on those fronts can start happening now. That of all the schools out there who are striving to be the first university to space, at least one, THIS one, is going to do it the right way.

But we cannot do it without your help. 

Here's the bottom line, we are fully funded through our level 3 HPR certification attempt in the Fall of 2016. Things get exponentially more expensive and complex after that. 

Projected Milestones: 

Spring of 2017
Altitude: 30,000 ft (+5 miles)
Speed: Mach 2

Fall of 2017
Altitude: 100,000 ft 
Speed: Mach 3 

Summer of 2018
Altitude: 400,000 ft (75.75 miles)
Speed: >Mach 4

Your donation will go to help us buy the tools and raw materials we need to make this world record attempt possible and establish a lasting space program at UWO that will attract generations of future STEM majors.  

We are the underdog. Your support gives us a fighting chance. Become a part of our story.