AeroBears

For the fourth consecutive year, the Lenoir-Rhyne University AeroBears competed in the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), an elite event hosted by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA). This year’s competition brought together 159 teams from 24 countries and took place at the Midland International Air and Space Port in Midland, Texas, marking a new launch site after several years at Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Five team members traveled to Texas with their rocket, Bearricane. The rocket was named to honor the residents of western North Carolina who experienced Hurricane Helene in fall 2024. The team competed in the 10k-COTS category — the largest and most competitive division at IREC. COTS, or Commercial Off-the-Shelf, means the rocket uses a commercially available motor with a target apogee of 10,000 feet.

LR has the smallest number of team members, but consistently place higher than many larger, big-name universities.

The team’s small size means that every member of the team is active and engaged with the building and launch process. As team sponsor and physics professor Doug Knight ’86, Ph.D. pointed out, “Every member of the team gets hands-on experience with the rocket.”

Bearricane reached a record-setting apogee of 11,005 feet — the team’s highest altitude yet and the ninth highest in the 10k-COTS category. While teams earn the most points for getting as close as possible to the 10,000-foot target, the result marked a significant achievement for the AeroBears.

“Even though we lost points for going over 10,000 feet, it was in a positive direction. We were excited to set a team record for height,” Ramos said.

The AeroBears placed 56th overall and 38th in the 10k-COTS category

The rocket team started out small but despite their size, their dedication has led them to do really amazing things. They have participated in ballooning projects in addition to working with the rockets. Being an AeroBear is not just about winning competitions (although that is super cool). It is about setting students up for success. Our former graduates have gone on to work at places like NASA and Lockheed Martin. They have learned what it looks like to work in this industry from being part of this committed team. This experience is the closest thing they can do to working in a real engineering environment. They have deadlines, deliverables, goals. They are evaluated by reviewers who are professionals in the industry and receive a performance review each year.

Our AeroBears will once again be competing this year in the largest competition in the world, the International Rocket Engineering Competition (formerly Spaceport America). This is a week long competition with 170 teams of more than 6000 students from 20 countries.

Their next competition is coming up this summer and our AeroBears need our help to get there. The cost of travel for a week long competition is not small. They need $15,000 to be able to go to the competition. We are asking you to come alongside these dedicated students and support them so that they are able to compete once again, learning real tools and gaining experience that will give them a huge advantage as they go into the real world upon graduation.