DragonPlate Congratulates the RIT Launch Initiative Team's Win at the 2023 IREC

ELBRIDGE, N.Y., September 5, 2023 (Newswire.com) - The team at DragonPlate would like to commend The RIT Launch Initiative for their success at the Intercollegiate Rocket and Engineering Competition (IREC) held in Las Cruces, NM, this past July. Over 6,000 students from 158 international collegiate teams attended the meeting to compete with solid, liquid, or hybrid-fueled rockets.

The RIT team won the Space Dynamics Laboratory Payload Challenge against 150 other teams. The team took an innovative approach and installed air brakes on their payload rather than on the rocket. The brakes slowed the payload's descent once it was ejected from the 10 ft rocket Kong - King of the Skies at an altitude of 7,000 feet. This allowed them to collect data on the effectiveness of the brake design.

The students designed and built the payload data collecting system and modular flight controller, communicating via Ethernet with the modular flight computer. They 3D printed rocket parts and the tooling used to manufacture the composite nose cone. The rocket frame itself was fabricated from fiberglass and carbon fiber. The team submitted technical reports on the build process that industry professionals judged. They were one of 24 teams selected out of 159 for a Project Technical Presentation on their flight computer. The multidisciplinary team demonstrated exceptional expertise, teamwork, creativity, dedication, and commitment in this significant accomplishment.

DragonPlate is honored to have supported the RIT Launch Initiative team with carbon fiber materials and played a part in their journey toward excellence in rocketry. "At DragonPlate, we believe in fostering innovation and inspiring the next generation of engineers and aerospace professionals," said JB Allred, CEO of Allred & Associates, the parent company of DragonPlate. "We are thrilled to see the RIT Launch Initiative's success and are eager to continue supporting their future endeavors."

About RIT Launch Initiative:

The RIT Launch Initiative is the official rocket club at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Comprising passionate and talented students from various disciplines, the club aims to promote rocketry and space exploration through innovation, collaboration, and hands-on experience. For more information, visit The RIT Launch Initiative.

Source: DragonPlate by Allred & Associates