Join us at Wildcat Rocketry
Wildcat Rocketry promotes rocketry and aeronautics through international intercollegiate rocketry competitions, promoting education and high power rocketry certification, and hosting community outreach activities. Our team's activities promote education about rocketry and space in general across campus and in the community. Our members are interested in high power rockets, their design and construction, and watching the incredible launches.
We launch low and high power rockets at launch days in Argonia, KS and participate in intercollegiate rocketry competitions. The largest of these competitions are the following:
- The Argonia Cup, supported by Tripoli Rocketry Association - Hosted by the Kloudbusters at the Rocket Pasture in Argonia, KS
- Spaceport America Cup, formerly IREC (SAC) - Hosted by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association at Spaceport America, NM
The Argonia Cup focuses on safe rocket and payload design, with the goal of reaching over 8,000 ft above ground level, and then returning a payload as close to the launch pad as possible. This competition is restricted to an L-sized motor, over 4000 times more powerful than a typical model rocket motor.
Spaceport America Cup puts a larger emphasis on the engineering design process as a whole, including multi-step progress reports throughout the build season and final technical presentations at competition. Each team selects a target altitude, either 10,000 ft or 30,000 ft, with the goal of getting as close as possible to the altitude. Every vehicle must also carry a payload of some fashion, whether it is ballast weight, flight recording hardware, or a scientific experiment.
