UML Rocketry FIRE Program
First-year introduction to rocketry Experience (FIRE)
Rocketry can be daunting. With dozens of acronyms, terms, standards, and regulations. It can be a very steep learning curve. The FIRE program at UML Rocketry gives a great, structured program that gets new members to get into the hobby. If you are interested in the program, you can fill out the form below, and you can visit the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) website, to learn more about High-Powered Rocketry (HPR) in the US.
Why have an entire section FOR this?
Most collegiate clubs tend to grow and fade. The best way to make sure we are always growing is by creating a huge repository of information that new and existing members can learn from. We have tutorials for our simulation software and PowerPoint slide decks on topics like advanced recovery techniques and launch weather forecasting. Including providing means to get Certifications through NAR.
Certification?
Well, this is almost rocket science. These rockets are big, about 4 times larger than the Estes kits you can buy from Walmart. After a certain point, the US government (14CFR 101.22) requires that Rocketeers get a Certification to fly larger rockets. Getting a certification in High-Power Rocketry (HPR) can be done relatively quickly. Because of standardized materials and building practices, it has made getting a certification much easier. However, we like to ensure whoever is flying knows every single inch of their rocket, why it's important, how it can fail, and what happens if it fails.
Level 1 Certifications involve flying and recovering a rocket on an H or I motor, which has around 10 times more kick than the rocket motors you buy at a hobby shop. On your own, it's not uncommon for an L1 cert to cost about $250+, including buying all the equipment and building materials.
Wait, it costs how Much?!
Yeah, I bet that caught your eye. On average, a high-power rocket on the pad easily costs over $200, even the small ones. Our competition-size rockets are even more expensive; the propellant for a single flight alone costs at least $250 before shipping. The cheapest Level 1 High Power Kit is usually $80; UMass Lowell's kit is $15. On average, after the kit, motor cost, and our equipment fee, and your membership to NAR, it costs around $100 with the club (and that's if the club doesn't subsidize anything).
Because HPR Certification are not the main focus of the club (Projects like NASA Student Launch are), we do only support a limited number of HPR certs per year. While we are trying to expand this, we are mainly limited to how many rockets we can fly per day (around 8), and how many launches we go to.
