The Mississippi State University Space Cowboys is a student organization devoted to the design, construction and launching of rockets.
Since the team’s formation in 2006, engineering students have participated in the scheduling, purchasing, calculating, financing and logistical coordination of building and launching a rocket through the University Student Launch Initiative, a competition between university teams sponsored by NASA.
For the competition, students generally must construct a rocket capable of carrying a payload of observational equipment to an altitude of one mile, and then the rocket must safely descend without damaging the equipment.
Throughout the process, the MSU Space Cowboys write three to four academic papers on preliminary designs, design review, flight readings and safety, each of which is hundreds of pages in length. These papers are as equally important to the judges of the University Student Launch Initiative as the actual rocket’s performance.
The current crisis with the federal government shutdown has left NASA in need of funds, and as a result, the student competition has been canceled.
James Kelly, graduate student adviser for the MSU Space Cowboys, said the team is undeterred.
“Even though there won’t be a competition this year, we still plan on building our rocket,” Kelly said.
The Space Cowboys stay hard at work to reach out to the Starkville community. The Space Cowboys frequently visit local groups like Boy and Girl Scouts troops. At these meetings, the members demonstrate their rockets and talk about the importance of math and science. Amy Sanford, the team’s co-director of outreach, said these visits aim to foster an interest in aerodynamics in the young students.
“A lot of kids might think it’s unrealistic to want to grow up to be a rocket scientist. But when we come to visit, they get to see people who are actually doing it,” she said. “We want them to know you don’t have to be some kind of genius or the smartest kid in your class to do this.”
The majority of the Space Cowboys’ outreach is conducted in late March during their “Space Week,” but they visit various children’s organizations throughout the year when not busy with rocket building. Those interested in scheduling an event with the MSU Space Cowboys can contact Sanford at [email protected].
