C.R.A.W.LAB

A Rocket Launch for International Student Satellites

A Rocket Launch for International Student Satellites (ARLISS) was created to promote student interest and help them gain experince with the skillset necessary for space exploration. For ARLISS, the members of the AEROPAC rocket club provide rockets to launch the student satellites. The student projects are not actually launched into space, but rather to approximately 12,000 feet. ARLISS is an international event, where Japanese participants far outnumber American.

Since 2014, UL Lafayette Teams have competed in the Open Class competition in each year. Open class devices must fit inside a cylinder of approximately six inches in diameter and ten inches in length and must have a mass less than 1050 grams. After being launched and ejected from the rocket at about 12,000 feet, the devices must autonomously navigate to a predetermined target location, simulating landing a spacecraft on other planets. In order to win the contest, the device must stop within 100 meters of the target and be closer than other competitors. There is also a banquet, during which each team presents their design and results to all other teams.