Please consider helping Grizzly Aerospace Attend the Spaceport America Cup

jordan.jacob

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Grizzly Aerospace Spaceport America Cup Team (GoFundMe)



I am Jordan Jacob, founding President of Grizzly Aerospace, a Registered Student Organization at Georgia Gwinnett College. Our organization was accepted to compete in this year's Spaceport America Cup, and we would appreciate your help attending the competition.

The Spaceport America Cup is a prestigious international rocket engineering competition that draws 158 teams from colleges and universities in 24 countries. This year's teams include Georgia State University, Clemson University, Florida International University, Polytechnique Montreal from Canada, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology from Poland, and The University of Melbourne from Australia, to name a few. You can view a complete list of this year's accepted teams here.

Engineering degrees are not offered to students at Georgia Gwinnett College; instead, students participate in an engineering pre-advising program that has them complete prerequisites to transfer to other institutions. Over the last two years, our team has established Grizzly Aerospace as a student organization where students can get hands-on and apply their engineering skills to real-world projects.

Our entry into the 2023 Spaceport America Cup is Project Luna, a 100% 3D-printed modular rocket capable of rapid manufacturing and assembly. The project embodies the spirit of innovation and highlights the remarkable possibilities of leveraging emerging technologies, such as 3D printing.

Your donation will assist us with competition entrance fees, acquiring necessary construction materials, and travel expenses to attend the competition, taking place from June 19th through June 24th. Our estimated costs are currently over $10,000. However, every dollar is a step closer for our members to attending the competition and showing our potential.

We thank you for your time and attention. Will you help us "Soar with a Roar!" and donate today?
 
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Ez2cDave

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jordan.jacob

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Jordan,

How many students will be attending the competition ?

How many people. in total, will be attending the competition ?

From Lawrenceville, GA to Las Cruces, NM is approximately 1,500 miles, each way.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Las+Cruces,+NM/Lawrenceville,+GA/@33.1742457,-100.6722805,6z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x86de1ac745069869:0x636dd01df13f32bd!2m2!1d-106.7636538!2d32.3199396!1m5!1m1!1s0x88f508ebdb5f57ab:0xc3db0f7dcd03069a!2m2!1d-83.9879625!2d33.9562149!5i2

Dave F.
@Ez2cDave, we have 4 students and two faculty advisors going on the trip and will be driving.
 

Ez2cDave

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@Ez2cDave, we have 4 students and two faculty advisors going on the trip and will be driving.
OK . . . Some "numbers".

(1) - Round Trip Distance = 3000 miles.

(2) - Fuel Cost ( projected ) for 2 vehicles, getting 20 mpg HWY ( conservative ) . . . 300 gallons for 2 vehicles, traveling 3000 miles at 20 mpg - $ 1000 - $1200.

(3) - Hotel - 1 night in hotel, mid-trip, each way ( 3 rooms, 2 people per room ) $ 500 - $600 ( $80-$100 / night ).

(4) - Dorms at Event - 6 people - $150 total, per night - 7 nights = $ 1050
https://www.soundingrocket.org/uploads/9/0/6/4/9064598/2023_nmsu_summer_conference_rates_revised_1-19-23.pdf

(5) - Fees - Entry $300 / Rocket $700 / Rocketeer $75, each = $ 1450
https://www.soundingrocket.org/irec-fees.html

(6) - Food - $25 / day, per person ( 11 days total ) = 6 x $25 = $150 / day . . . $150 / day X 11 = $1650

TOTAL = $1000 - $1200 / + $500 - $600 / + $1050 / +$1450 / + $1650 = $5650 - $5950

You are projecting a total cost of "over $10,000" . . .

After the expenses I noted, that leaves a "balance" of $4050.

Do you have an itemized list of your projected costs, including amounts ?

How much are each of the 6 participants contributing, of their own funds ?

Dave F.
 

jordan.jacob

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OK . . . Some "numbers".

(1) - Round Trip Distance = 3000 miles.

(2) - Fuel Cost ( projected ) for 2 vehicles, getting 20 mpg HWY ( conservative ) . . . 300 gallons for 2 vehicles, traveling 3000 miles at 20 mpg - $ 1000 - $1200.

(3) - Hotel - 1 night in hotel, mid-trip, each way ( 3 rooms, 2 people per room ) $ 500 - $600 ( $80-$100 / night ).

(4) - Dorms at Event - 6 people - $150 total, per night - 7 nights = $ 1050
https://www.soundingrocket.org/uploads/9/0/6/4/9064598/2023_nmsu_summer_conference_rates_revised_1-19-23.pdf

(5) - Fees - Entry $300 / Rocket $700 / Rocketeer $75, each = $ 1450
https://www.soundingrocket.org/irec-fees.html

(6) - Food - $25 / day, per person ( 11 days total ) = 6 x $25 = $150 / day . . . $150 / day X 11 = $1650

TOTAL = $1000 - $1200 / + $500 - $600 / + $1050 / +$1450 / + $1650 = $5650 - $5950

You are projecting a total cost of "over $10,000" . . .

After the expenses I noted, that leaves a "balance" of $4050.

Do you have an itemized list of your projected costs, including amounts ?

How much are each of the 6 participants contributing, of their own funds ?

Dave F.
@Ez2cDave, thanks for the breakdown. They are much appreciated! We're trying to get the students to contribute as much as possible; however, being an open-access institution and not a university, our students do not have a lot of expendable funds. Our rough estimate was $10,000 to cover the entire cost, including the motor, and any additional components we need, like the hardware (eyebolts, screws, heat-set inserts, etc.), possibly upgraded GPS to meet requirements of the SA Cup rules, antenna for receiving station, competition fees, etc. We've been trying as hard as we can to cut expenses where we can. For example, we are looking at a cheap Airbnb, possibly costing about $190 per person for the entire week.
 
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jordan.jacob

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I’d say $40/day is more realistic for 3 fast food meals per day, which drives me crazy. That’s an extra $1000.
I can agree with that. We've noticed the cost of items going up. For example, my local McDonald's in Atlanta now charges $3.39 just for a large fry by itself.
 

jordan.jacob

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Try and factor in a test launch beforehand. That means at least two motors.
We want to factor another test in as well. We've completed multiple sub-scale tests and have had some good flights with the sub-scale models. We also don't want to risk replacing everything if we have another catastrophic launch, as we did with Luna Mk V. We figured out that the parachute was too large for the body tube and got stuck when the ejection charge pushed it down. The larger diameter we're printing now will resolve that issue.

Luna Mk V Maiden Flight - Rocketry of the Southern Stars (R.O.S.S) Event
 

Funkworks

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Use of 1 vehicle, not counting fuel, is around 0.50 per mile (depreciation and maintenance). For 3000 miles, that's $1,500.

 

jordan.jacob

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Have you considered using a deployment bag?
We've heard people mention it but now. We had the parachute in a Nomex blanket burrito, and it was just right at the same 4" diameter as the body tube. When we upscale to the 6" diameter, we should be good.
 

fyrwrxz

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C'mon, guys! For the price of a couple of 'D' motors, you can pass the fire to a younger generation. We need the new blood, if nothing else, just to keep us in the space race. Move the bell curve to the right. Ad Astra!
 

jordan.jacob

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C'mon, guys! For the price of a couple of 'D' motors, you can pass the fire to a younger generation. We need the new blood, if nothing else, just to keep us in the space race. Move the bell curve to the right. Ad Astra!
Every penny helps! Thank you for the support! Please feel free to share amongst your social networks and spread the word!
 
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