Hello, Rocketeers!
Thanks to your hard work and dedication to your IREC projects, we are achieving one of ESRA’s ultimate goals: preparing the next generation of engineers ready to step into the aerospace industry. Now, we want to raise the bar and plan even more challenges for you!
Here are some of the exciting changes we will be making for this year's competition:
- Allowing two teams from the same university to participate if they use different types of propellant (e.g., Solid and Hybrid, Hybrid and Liquid, or Solid and Liquid)
- Students may not be members of BOTH teams and cannot swap teams mid-year.
- Liquid teams will need to provide their own insurance
- Reducing minimum payload mass to 2.0 kg.
- Changing the “I” in IREC from Intercollegiate to International Rocket Engineering Competition
While we have greatly enjoyed our partnership with Spaceport America and will always be grateful for their support over the last eight years of hosting the competition, we are now evaluating possible alternate launch sites. This change would enable ESRA to expand the engineering challenge and provide you with even more opportunities to showcase your skills.
Here are the exciting highlights we hope to be making for this year:
- New two-stage competition category: 30k and 45k
- Demonstration flights to ???k (to be determined)
Our ability to add these challenges is dependent on our ability to find an alternate site (the search is on). Regardless, we are planning to open our three-week application window on Monday 10/21.
ESRA will host a Zoom town hall meeting to address as many of your questions as possible, very soon.
Stay tuned for more updates, and keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible!
