The Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL) of the Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering is proud to announce that a team of eight Aerospace Engineering graduate students was awarded first place in the 2010-2011 AIAA Graduate Missile Design competition, which is organized by the AIAA Missile Systems Technical Committee (MSTC).
The team, led by Program Manager Scott Strong and Chief Engineer William Garrison, performed a complete design space exploration and conceptual design of a tactical missile system. This system was required to engage targets at ranges of at least 500 n.mi. in less than ten minutes demanding hypersonic flight speeds. The team analyzed design possibilities ranging from advanced air-breathing systems to traditional rocket configurations and determined that a three stage solid rocket ballistic missile was optimal.
The final missile design, capable of launching from both naval ships and military aircraft, utilizes a boost-glide trajectory, carrying conventional payloads and reaching speeds in excess of Mach 6 upon impact. A total of three teams entered the competition, including Auburn University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Naval Post Graduate School. The team plans to present their results at the Joint Army, Navy, NASA, Air Force (JANNAF) conference held in Huntsville, AL later this year.
Advisors: Dr. Dimitri Mavris - Faculty Advisor Rebecca Douglas - Team Advisor Bradford Roberston - Student Advisor Team Members: Jeremy Bennetch, Christopher Brenci, Grace Contino, Addison Dunn, William Garrison, Blaine Laughlin, Anthony Piplica, and Scott Strong A special thanks to AE undergraduate Andrew Peterson for his contributions to the project
