A new student club at College of DuPage (COD) is setting its sights higher than most: the edge of space. Formed this semester, the Chaparral Aerospace and Rocketry Association (CARA) brings together students from engineering, computer science and other backgrounds with the goal of designing and building a liquid-propellant rocket from scratch.
“Our goal is that we want to reach the Kármán line,” said CARA founder and first-year student Evan Keegstra. “Then, we want to publish a research paper on our findings.”
After realizing no existing club matched his passion for rockets, Keegstra decided to start his own.
“I’ve always been obsessed with space rockets,” he said. “I probably have more hours in [the game] Kerbal Space Program than I do breathing.”
Starting last November, Keegstra spent hundreds of hours poring over old NASA reports. Keegstra started to do his own calculations based on the reports and gradually recruited a small group of students to help bring the project to life using computer-aided design (CAD) software.
“I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without [the team],” Keegstra said. “Each one of them brings a unique skillset to the table, and at this point, they probably know more than me. It’s inspiring that these people all came together for [the] project.”
Three weeks after official club formation, CARA has grown to over 30 members. To tackle such a complex project and manage the workload, the club divides its members into specialized teams: first-year mechanical engineering major Joshua Syversen leads engineering and design, first-year engineering major Harshaan Singh heads applied mathematics and first-year mechanical engineering major Dominic Kent oversees research and development.
As lead of the engineering and design team, Syversen helps translate the club’s calculations and concepts into feasible models and prototypes.
“I was initially less interested in rockets and aerospace in particular because I come from an automotive background,” Syversen said. “But being able to produce an engine [whose] exhaust velocity is capable of breaking the sound barrier is pretty cool. I did spend a good portion of my childhood in Florida, so I often visited the Kennedy Space Center, where I first started to gain an interest in the general field of engineering.”
While CARA members are passionate about reaching the edge of space, the project’s complexity and cost make each step a challenge. The club is seeking funding from both COD and outside sources to cover materials and equipment, which he estimates could total between $5,000 to $15,000.
“We still need simulation computers,” Keegstra said. “Most of our team either doesn’t have laptops that can run the stuff that we need to run or has a computer that’s at home. We can’t expect people to work on [the club] outside of hours. So we need materials here.”
The founding team and faculty adviser, Michael McCabe, met with COD President Muddassir Siddiqi on Feb. 18 to discuss funding and supplies needed to support their endeavor, Kent said. They are working to meet safety protocols alongside obtaining proper materials. Additionally, the team will implement stress-testing to minimize failure along the way. Now, he said, they’re looking for more members with diverse backgrounds of study.
“Most people think you have to know everything about math and space, [that] you have to be an expert,” Kent said. “We need people from every field. There’s a lot that goes into [a project like] this. Writing is a big part of it, and we don’t have writers yet. Legality is a big part of it, too.”
Club members say that COD is one of four community colleges in the nation with a rocketry club that constructs their own engine. CARA aims to become the first non-NASA-affiliated community college to successfully launch.
“There are universities that struggle with developing rockets and rocket engines,” Syversen said. “We are attempting to show that the big university from your hometown is not the only option anymore. Community colleges are relevant and are a good source of all forms of education.”
Although the task seems mountainous to tackle, Keegstra has full faith that the team alongside him can accomplish their goals.
“Rocket science isn’t actually rocket science,” Keegstra said. “It’s not that hard. It’s just difficult because it’s big. One of the things that prevents us from stopping when the mountain looks so big is thinking, ‘Well, I climbed all of these other mountains previously, what’s stopping me now?’ We’re just going to keep going. And there’s nothing that is more unsatisfying than stagnation.”
CARA meets Mondays from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. in the Berg Instructional Center (BIC), Room 3441. For more information about the club, contact Keegstra via email at [email protected].
