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Rocket Bottle Challenge

Highlanders… Prepare for Lift-off!

 

Your NJIT Makerspace will be hosting its first Soda Bottle Rocket Competition to mark the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester and return to our beautiful Newark campus. Bring a 2 liter soda bottle and a few teammates to the Makerspace to begin crafting your (extremely) low-orbit escape vehicle with our 3D printers, laser cutters and of course the help of our highly trained student staff. Test your designs and parameters at the WEC field on trial launch days scheduled throughout September in an effort to construct the farthest flying rocket! On Friday, October 1st launch your completed rocket for awards & prizes, including “best in show”!

Click Here to Sign Up!

Launch Dates

Trial Days

  • Thursday, Sept. 9th: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
  • Monday, Sept. 13th: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Wednesday, Sept. 15th: 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM (Can start at 3:00 PM if needed)
  • Monday, Sept. 20th: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Thursday, Sept. 23rd: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
  • Monday, Sept. 27th: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Wed, Sept. 29th: 2:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Competition Day!

  • Friday, Oct. 1st: 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM (Rain date will be posted soon)

Prizes

Teams participating on competition day are eligible for prizes based on the performance of their rocket on competition day only. All teams may launch at least once on competition day and can launch a second time if no other team is prepared to launch. 

Prizes are as follows:

  • 1st Place Team (Sophomore, Junior, Senior Class) - $200 VISA Gift Card
  • 1st Place Team (Freshman Class) - $200 VISA Gift Card
  • 2nd Place Team (Sophomore, Junior, Senior Class) - $100 VISA Gift Card
  • 2nd Place Team (Freshman Class) - $100 VISA Gift Card
  • Design Award - $100 VISA Gift Card

Rules

Bottle & Design Specifications

  • 2 Liter Bottle, unaltered (no additional holes or structures outside of nose cone and fins)
  • Bottle must be straight/cylindrical (not curved in the middle)
  • Teams may design custom fins and nose cones, or utilize the Fusion360 designs linked to below

Launch Specifications

  • Fixed Launch Angle of 45 degrees
  • Fixed Bottle Air Pressure of 45 PSI

Teams can change following parameters to optimize flight distance:

  • The volume of water inside the bottle before launch
  • The nose cone shape
  • The weight of the nose cone by adding clay
  • The shape of the fins

Resources