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Design/Build/Launch

AIAA is proud to partner with Blue Origin for the Design/Build/Launch Competition as we strive to inspire the future workforce in STEM fields. Eleanor Sigrest — who is enrolled in a dual program at Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, VA, and the Governor’s School at Innovation Park in Manassas, VA – was our inaugural winner of the 2020 Design/Build/Launch. Eleanor will have her experiment approved for spaceflight on the New Shepard rocket in 2021 with the winning proposal on Improving Fluid Management Through A Novel Microgravity Slosh Mitigation Technique. We are proud for this to be the first AIAA-sponsored payload to go into flight. 

Eleanor explained, “ever since I can remember, I’ve looked at the stars and known I want to go to space. I want to be the first person on Mars. Through research, I feel I better my personal knowledge and contribute to a community, all sharing the same goal of exploring beyond our Earth and developing the technologies necessary to get to Mars — technologies that will also benefit all humankind. Design/Build/Launch is the perfect next step to complement my research of a novel microgravity slosh technique which could simplify spacecraft systems, increase payload capacity and save the space industry billions of dollars. This opportunity provides me the chance to further this research and prepare for my own launch to Mars.”

We are excited for Eleanor’s microgravity experiment to go on the New Shepard rocket with Blue Origin and look forward to her presentation of the findings at 2021 ASCEND.