Student Projects in the Aerospace Engineering Design Lab

3D Printed Aircraft Team

Competition: 3DPAC National, Arlington Texas
Goal: To 3D print a fixed wing aircraft and participate in endurance type events.
Website

CANSAT

Competition: American Astronautical Society (AAS) CANSAT competition
Goal: Participate in an end-to-end life cycle of a complex engineering project, from conceptual design, through integration and test, actual operation of the system and concluding with a post-mission summary and debrief.
Website

inspireFly

Goal: The inspireFly team designs, builds, and deploys CubeSats into low‑Earth orbit. They aim to make space local by empowering students to achieve real-world mission success through cutting-edge engineering.
Website

MachWorks

Goal: MachWorks aims to design and build an autonomous supersonic fixed-wing UAV powered by turbojet engines and develop a team of high-quality undergraduate engineers capable of tackling and solving difficult problems.
Website

NASA Student Launch Initiative

Competition: NASA Student Launch
Goal: To provide relevant, cost-effective rocket propulsion systems.
Website

Orbital Launch Vehicle Team

Goal: Initially to fly a rocket pass the Karman Line (100 km altitude) and then to place a satellite into low Earth orbit.
Website

Rocketry team in the desert at competition

Rocketry@VT

Competition: Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition and Spaceport America Cup, New Mexico.
Goal: To launch a 10 lb payload to 10,000 feet altitude.
Website

A solar panel ready to be tested in a thermal vacuum chamber

RockSAT-X@VT

Goal: To launch a modular payload aboard a sounding rocket to advance cost-effective access to space for university student design teams.
Website

Wind Turbine Team

Competition: Collegiate Wind Competition
Goal: To build, market, and select a mock implementation location for a viable wind turbine.
Website