Engineering 100-980

Launch Day Logistics

Lab Access Windows (Nov 13-14)

• Thursday, Nov 13: The lab is open now and stays open until 7:30 p.m. Use this time to finish fabrication and assembly.
• Friday, Nov 14 (3:30–5:30 p.m.): Final office hours for fabrication/assembly. Put rechargeable batteries on the charger during this window. If you rely on disposable batteries, you will receive a fresh one before launch, but you must check one out from the IAs on Saturday.

Saturday Morning Timeline

• The lab opens at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Use this slot to gather materials, run quick pre-launch checks, and insert a clean microSD card.
• Do not attempt major code or hardware changes Saturday morning, and avoid any testing that could damage your payload—there will not be time to recover from issues.

Launch Kit Pickup

• Each team will receive a launch kit on Friday containing an engine, igniters, plugs, and recovery wadding.
• Place your team parts box (clear tackle box) inside the purple cabinets on Friday so staff can load the launch materials.
• Every team starts Saturday with one engine. After the first round of launches we will redistribute any remaining engines to teams that need a second attempt.

What to Bring to Mitchell Field West

Bring the essentials so you can debug on site after your first flight:

• Laptop computer
• microSD card reader
• Cable adapters and your programming cable

Launch Schedule & Location

• Plan to arrive at the lab between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Launches begin around 12:00 p.m. at Mitchell Field West (softball fields).
• We will monitor weather closely and send a Canvas + Slack Go/No-Go announcement by 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

Weather Outlook

Stay informed with the live NOAA meteogram for Ann Arbor. The chart below always locks onto the 48-hour Saturday/Sunday window so you can compare temperature, wind, gusts, humidity, and precipitation potential at a glance.

Source: NOAA / NWS Detroit-Pontiac