The Ram Launch Initiative team is a group of 10 mechanical engineering seniors and 4 underclassmen at CSU that are competing in this years NASA University Student Launch Initiative (USLI). Please follow along with us as we progress through being one of the first teams in Colorado to compete!
Support your CSU Rocket Team by making a donation to our Ramfunder! Ramfunder is a crowdfunding platform that allows anyone to donate any amount. The Ramfunder is currently open and closes at the end of March. Any amount helps!
The NASA USLI competition is a student led rocket competition in which students design, build, and launch a rocket to compete against other universities while completing NASA's payload mission. This competition takes inspiration from the Artemis Challenge by allowing students to think creatively to complete the mission statement. This year, students must design a payload that jettisons from the launch vehicle during a certain range of decent, uses an atmospheric independent lander (no parachute, glider, etc.), and lands safety by using human survivability metrics.
ERC Cleanup Day
The team participated in a hands-on clean up day at the Engineering Research Center (ERC) where the team will be putting together their parts for competition. This will serve as a workspace for the team throughout the year to develop and put together all parts of the rocket.
NASA PDR Q&A Session
The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) report is one of the several technical documents that teams must submit as part of this competition. NASA held a question and answer session with all teams competing to discuss this report and . logistics of the competition
Other News and Events
Rocket Team’s First Official News Story: Student group represents CSU at NASA rocket competition for first time
Additional Requirements
The NASA USLI Competition is not only a competition for students to build a launch vehicle and payload. As part of this competition, students must also engage with at least 250 people in a learning hands-on activity to teach the public about the aerospace industry. Teams must also keep a strong social media presence with updates and news from the team.
