Student Rocket Program in Tokai University

Paper number

IAC-05-E1.1.06

Author

Mr. Yutaka Wada, Tokai University, Japan

Coauthor

Mr. Hiroyuki Yamaguchi, Tokai University, Japan

Coauthor

Prof. Masahisa Hanzawa, Tokai University, Japan

Coauthor

Prof. Fumio Tohyama, Tokai University, Japan

Year

2005

Abstract

Tokai Student Rocket Project (TSRP) was established for a purpose of the space science and engineering hands-on education as an academic program at Tokai University Shonan campus in 1995. TSRP started to have rocket launch collaboration with University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) from 1996. In January 2000 and March 2002, two collaborative sounding rockets were launched at Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska and all of payloads were successfully carried to the apogee of 79 km and 89km high, respectively. TSRP students made instruments, fluxgate magnetometers and sun sensors and carried on rockets, and they obtained data of rocket flight performance. The third collaborative rocket is going to launch in March, 2006 and both universities students are working to make and to test for their instruments. In this experiment, Tokai students try to observe Ultra Violet distribution in Arctic region. Alaskan students make payload flame, nose-cone, telemeter, accelerometer, power supply and GPS system. Both universities’ students had many workshops and meetings at each other campus and they have frequently contacts with emails and document exchanges each other. Faculty staff and students have made 9 trips from Tokai to Alaska and 4 trips from UAF to Japan since 1995 for collaboration on this project. 

The other TSRP project is hands-on hybrid rocket experiment. Three small hybrid rockets were launched to the level of 300-700m high in 2001 at Alaska and in 2004 at Japan, in which students made up accelerometer, onboard computer, thermometer and barometric altimeter on the payload. Students have developed new rocket engine, telemetry system and separation system without firearms and a new hybrid rocket will launch under the help of the University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC) in March, 2005.

This training and educational program provides students with the opportunity for hands-on experience to design, to construct, to test sounding rocket payloads and hybrid rockets by use of low cost devices, and to analyze acquisition data after launches. This program has proven to be very effective in providing students with practical, real-world engineering design experience, and this program also allows students to participate in all phases of a sounding rocket mission. Also students learn scientific knowledge, engineering technique, public affair and system management through experiences of cooperative teamwork, presentations and collaborations.
In Tokai team, approximately 60 student participants, who range from freshman to graduate students, are independently working and studying interdisciplinary research and extensive techniques.
We are going to present our student activities and problems about the hand-on educational project in Tokai University.

Abstract document

IAC-05-E1.1.06.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-05-E1.1.06.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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