LAIKA

This project is named in honor of the first dog in space, Laika. She was launched on November 3, 1957, and became the first animal to orbit the Earth. Laika flew aboard Sputnik 2, Russia’s second satellite in space. She was a pioneer, one of the first living beings to leave Earth, and her mission accelerated global efforts that eventually led to humans landing on the Moon. Her journey was intended to teach scientists about the effects of spaceflight on living organisms. Laika died in space, alone, due to extreme overheating caused by a malfunction in the spacecraft’s temperature control system. The true cause of her death was hidden from the public by the Soviet Union for over 40 years, until it was revealed in 2002. As a robotic representation of a small dog, aimed at learning and exploration this project has been named in honor of her sacrifice to scientific discovery.

 The SDL Payload Challenge is a university-level competition held as part of the Spaceport America Cup, run by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) in partnership with Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL). The goal of the Lehigh University Rocketry team (LURA) is to participate in the 10,000 ft AGL category, using a commercially available solid rocket motor. The payload requirement of the challenge stipulates the rocket must carry a payload with a mass of at least 2 kg. The payload is evaluated by judges during the competition based on its innovation, complexity, and scientific/engineering value. The flight of the launch vehicle (LV) is scored based on altitude accuracy, successful recovery, vehicle and payload integrated performance, and technical documentation. The key objectives of this competition for LURA to accomplish include: building an LV that reliably reaches 10,000 feet, developing a functional payload and integrating it such that it deploys reliably, and publishing technical reports, design reviews, and flight data to facilitate open science and technical documentation practice.