Our Crowdfunding Groups
Welcome to STAR's Fall 2022 Crowdfunding Campaign! We are proud to showcase our past achievements and introduce new exciting projects & initiatives that will further improve our technologies and inspire more interest in science and engineering.
▲ 2022 Crowdfunding Campaign
Spring 2022 Team ▲
This year, STAR’s outreach division is ecstatic to announce that the STAR Scholarship Program is officially in action! Over the past year, our now-president, Aarabhi Achanta, has worked alongside NexGeneGirls–a nonprofit seeking to provide opportunities, education, and connections to high school girls looking to pursue a career in STEM. In addition to providing financial support for a group of six talented women of color, we will also be hosting a series of workshops this October that will assist them with applying to colleges and continuing their passion for STEM in higher education. We are excited to be working with the College Admissions Mentorship Program (formerly People’s Test Preparation Service) to assemble a good curriculum for the recipients of STAR’s scholarship. Currently, Rachel Weber (Outreach Lead) and Anjana Saravanan are continuing the progress of this scholrship nd furthering its growth throughout this semester!
Just a few weeks ago, we launched our most recent rocket, Stage Separation (SSEP). The launch’s success made us closer to our big goal–to reach the stars with a student-made rocket! This was the first ever 2-stage rocket successfully flown by a team at Berkeley.
▲ SSEP Launch Vlog
2022 Crowdfunding Campaign ▲
Last semester our team successfully achieved a planned 6-second burn on our first liquid engine design. Lessons learned from this project will provide invaluable experience and knowledge for our current LE2 project! We are proud to become a liquid engine capable collegiate team!
▲ ELLIE Hot Fire
DAVE, or the Deployable Aerial Vehicle Experiment, is a glider mission piloted by STAR for the 2022-2023 year. DAVE is designed to be a glider that we can launch from the rocket at apogee to carry our experiments and get astronomically more value out of each launch. To accomplish this, however, DAVE must be capable of shrinking from its large wingspan to fit inside the rocket and then awaits takeoff until carried outside the vehicle by a parachute, where it can freely unfold and collect new types of experiments previously impossible for the team.
More recently, with DAVE, we have been preparing to start the project’s second iteration such as remaking the CAD, unfolding mechanisms, and adding new elements. From stronger materials to an added parachute, we emphasize bracing DAVE for its landing after deployment. We also have planned additions of RF control of our elevators, DAVE will be pilotable from the ground and allow us to change course mid flight.
DAVE Prototype ▲
Our first ever flyable liquid oxygen / ethanol powered rocket is currently in the fabrication and testing phase! On the propulsion front, we’re working on building and integrating physical/electronic components. As we test and optimize the system, we continually update our rocket model to more accurately reflect the predicted physics of launch. The flight vehicle airframe and recovery systems, developed in parallel with the propulsion element, continue with structural design and analysis as well as landing model development. We are currently on track to hotfire the foundational propulsion system in early November, and proceed with optimization and flight vehicle integration up until our launch in May!
Timeline
▲ LE2 General Timeline
IREC (Intercollegiate Rocketry Engineering Competition) is a 5 day competition where rocketry clubs from the nation get to network and present their rockets as well as launch them. Judges place teams depending on different requirements such as technicality and apogee. We have been working on HighBearNation for a year now and can’t wait to compete this coming summer. Our rocket highlights an axial avionics bay and an air brakes system to reach as close to 10,000 ft precisely as possible. We are currently working on having a replacement tube for air brakes to test the rocket without the air brakes system until it’s fully complete. We’re also going to create a new payload for our rocket and are super excited!
IREC 2021 Launch ▲
MINDI is a brand-new rocket we plan to launch by the end of the year! MINDI stands for minimum-diameter, and it’s a rocket in which the motor slides directly into the body tube rather than being inserted into a smaller motor-mount tube. Such a design poses challenges when it comes to mounting the fins and retaining the motor, and along with our new project recruits, we will work to address these obstacles and build a high-flying rocket. We are aiming to break the university altitude record with MINDI!
Timeline
▲ MINDI General Timeline
STAR sees projects from both short-term and long-term perspectives. We have big dreams of launching each of our unique and complex rockets! However, to do so, the Business team need all the help we can get! We would greatly appreciate any support that our donors can provide! And to give back to our donors, we have cool prizes that range depending on the amount donated. Feel free to check them out!
Approximate breakdown of our expenses for this year! Overall: $18,710.85
We love the work we do at STAR and are always happy to talk about it! Contact us at:
Email: UCBerkeleySTAR@gmail.com
Website: stars.berkeley.edu/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/starberkeley/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ucberkeleystar/
Finally, shoutout to the following teammates for helping set up the crowdfunding page:
Saranyu Nel, Sharon Onofre-Lozano, Hubert Liu, Jason Duong,
Justin Gonzalez, Abhiram Chennupati, Jingyuan Chen
As a supporter of STAR, you will be provided access to all the latest news on our team and projects through our monthly newsletter.
As a token of our gratitude for your support, we will provide you with a hand-signed note from our team along with some cool shiny custom STAR stickers!
As a token of our gratitude for your generous support, we will send you a signed Polaroid photo taken during one of our events to you along with all previous perks!
You are invited to our periodic meetings (monthly or bi-monthly), where we share cool rocketry stuff, general science knowledge, STAR's current progress, and even college life. You are also welcome to bring another person along – a friend, your kid, or anyone you know that may be interested. Q&As are available after the presentation. All previous perks are offered here too.
You will get an exclusive tour of the Richmond Field Station by our members to see where we build our own road to the dream! All perks above are included.
You will receive everything from the previous perks, along with a bespoke model designed and 3D printed by STAR members. As a sign of our gratitude we will also display you or your company's name on our website as one of our primary sponsors. All previous perks apply too!
If you are an individual sponsor, we welcome you to come to all of our launches (including the competition) and see our work in person. If you are a corporation looking for talents, we would love to connect you with our team members and help with the recruitment process. All previous perks apply as well!
