JANUARY 2025

January 31, 2025 by Austin Bennett

IREC LOCATION, HYSTER-YALE PRESENTATION, SUPPORT FOR NASA JPL CALIFORNIA FIRE RELIEF, CLUBS FAIR, AND MORE

Welcome

Welcome to the GFU Rocket Team's December 2024 edition of our newsletter! We would like to show our appreciation for your support, financial assistance, or even curiousity for our team by sharing with you what our team has been up to lately and periodically. So strap in, close the hatch, and let's fly!

Hyster-Yale Presentation

On Tuesday, January 28, 2025 Hyster-Yale Materials Handling invited the GFU Rocket Team to present our projects to their staff during a "Lunch & Learn" session. 

Thank you Evan, Sam, and Pete for hosting us and allowing us to connect with experienced industry workers. We look forward to continuing to discuss this years project and gain wisdom from the valuable employees of Hyster-Yale.

Scholarship Summit Clubs Fair

Throughout the past few weeks, multiple sites had been analyzed to potentially host this year's competition. Today, the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) announced the location of the 2025 IREC will be... Midland, TX! While this is the farthest site from Newberg, OR, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to travel across our beautiful country and be a part of the first IREC hosted in Texas. We are very thankful for all of the hard work the ESRA Staff and Volunteers have put into this decision and this years competition, and we trust that it will be a blessing not only for this year, but many years to come.

Spring 2025 Clubs Fair

Throughout the past few weeks, multiple sites had been analyzed to potentially host this year's competition. Today, the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) announced the location of the 2025 IREC will be... Midland, TX! While this is the farthest site from Newberg, OR, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to travel across our beautiful country and be a part of the first IREC hosted in Texas. We are very thankful for all of the hard work the ESRA Staff and Volunteers have put into this decision and this years competition, and we trust that it will be a blessing not only for this year, but many years to come.

Rocket Progress

Materials have arrived! ...

International Rocket Engineering Competition Location Announced!

Throughout the past few weeks, multiple sites had been analyzed to potentially host this year's competition. Today, the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) announced the location of the 2025 IREC will be... Midland, TX! While this is the farthest site from Newberg, OR, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to travel across our beautiful country and be a part of the first IREC hosted in Texas. We are very thankful for all of the hard work the ESRA Staff and Volunteers have put into this decision and this years competition, and we trust that it will be a blessing not only for this year, but many years to come.

Fundraising Update

Wow, I can't believe we have already made it! Today is the last day of our crowdfunding campaign, and we have been so blessed by all of our donors who support our team to raise a total of $7,120 through 38 donations! Even though this campaign is over, our general donation page is always available and you can donate here if you wish to help us get closer to our $35,000 goal. We are halfway to being fully funded, but still need a little extra support to reach our goal. Some of the ways we have been able to use funds so far this year include:

• New Member High Power Rocketry Certification Kits

• Main & Backup Flight Computers

• GPS Tracker

• Test & Competition Motors and Motor Hardware

• Ground Station Antenna

If you would like to help support our team financially, please consider donating by clicking here. This link will take you to our fundraiser page.

If you would like to become an industry sponsor of our team, please email rocketteam@georgefox.edu for more information. We would love to help advertise your business to both potential customers, as well as to students who could be potential future employees for your company.

Thank you to those of you who have supported us thus far, we look forward to sharing the amazing progress of our team this year as we prepare to head to the 2025 IREC!

Upcoming Events

Moving forward, our team will continue to fundraise through our crowdfunding page to financially provide for this year's projects and travel/lodging. We also will continue purchasing materials for and begin building our Trillium II rocket, and building a test stand for Myrtle I to attempt a hydrostatic fire. In addition, we plan to begin working on our 1st progress report for the IREC, and celebrate our progress so far this year with a Christmas party open to all GFU students.

Event Schedule:

TBD: Community Outreach Event

Dec 31: Crowdfunding Deadline

Jan 11, 2025: Washington Aerospace Launch

Jan 31, 2025: Scholarship Summit Club Fair

NET Feb, 2025: "Trillium II" Flight Test - Launch

Feb 7, 2025: Scholarship Summit Club Fair

Feb 7, 2025: IREC Progress Report 2 Release

Feb 8, 2025: Washington Aerospace Launch (Redmond, WA)

Feb 14, 2025: Oregon NASA Space Grant Consortium Symposium

Feb 28, 2025: OSGC Project Report Release

Jun 9-14, 2025: International Rocket Engineering Competition

TBD: "Myrtle I" Hydrostatic Test - Static Fire

Closing Remarks

As always, a huge thank you for taking a portion of your time to hear our team's updates, we really enjoy sharing with you as we work towards our goal of honoring the Lord with our rocketry ventures. I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas, just as we all have had celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Do not take this life for granted, for God has only given us one. May the Lord bless you as you begin the New Year, see you in 2025!