Launching their dreams into orbit, these students are pushing the boundaries of space exploration.
Not many people can say they’ve launched a rocket — much less before graduating college — but that’s exactly what members do in the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) club.
The UNLV chapter of SEDS was established in 2019 as a science- and engineering-based student club to foster interest in space exploration. In the five years since, SEDS has become a place for students to build relationships with their peers, gain valuable aerospace experience, and bolster their resumes.
Landing Internships Through Club Experiences
Ronaldo Valdivia, a senior mechanical engineering major and former SEDS public relations officer explains, “We do so many things and projects that we genuinely meet all the time during the week depending if you are on every project or not. It is a very inclusive club where the goal is not only to learn rocket science, but also to create relationships with other students with similar interests. It’s honestly impossible to not make friends in this club.”
Connections are at the heart of the club — every member of the club’s leadership team joined via word-of-mouth from a friend or a teaching assistant.
But connections aren’t limited to peers; students also connect with aerospace companies and professionals across the country through rocket competitions and networking opportunities.
Mechanical engineering students Rabih Chaar and Gavin Chung, SEDS president and vice president, have already landed coveted internships at aerospace industry titans like NASA, the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory, Rocket Lab, and SpaceX.
The internship opportunities extend beyond the leadership team: This summer, Kendal Harris, the lead airframe engineer for the Spaceport America Cup 2024 competition team, will intern at Joby Aviation through the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship. Harris, who was featured in the 2024 State of the University video, is the first UNLV student to earn the honor.
Valdiva explains what sets SEDS students apart: “From having zero projects under my belt two years ago, I now have leadership experience and multiple projects, including the design, building, and testing of an actual rocket engine. How cool is that? Not only is it super rad, but it makes me stand out from the rest when presenting my resume at career fairs and job interviews.”
The Liquid Rocket Project
One big project that distinguishes SEDS students is their work on the Student Researched And Developed (SRAD) Liquids project.
The rocket in this project — named SPARK I for Students Propelled Aerospace Rocket Kickstart — is the first ever student-created liquid rocket engine in Nevada. Chung, the club's vice president, is the project manager.
“Liquid rocket engines are an effective way to push a large amount of stuff into space, but that also means that they are very complicated and hard to build," Chung explains. "Temperatures inside the engine can rival the surface of the sun, and the pressure inside can equal the amount of pressure you’d experience over two miles underwater. Not to mention the fact that building one requires applying all types of engineering, and then you start to understand why very few rockets can actually reach space."
To adapt to the intense environment rockets need to withstand — as well as the limited funds of a student organization — SEDS students came up with an ingenious solution: SPARK I is almost entirely 3D printed out of resin. The materials save money for the students and manage the heat in the rocket.
Chung says, “I’ve had the privilege of interning at multiple aerospace organizations … and I would not have been able to secure those opportunities without the experience I gained working on projects at SEDS. In all of my interviews the main interest is my work on the SRAD Liquids project, specifically, and they’re always surprised at just how complex we were able to make it without spending an obscene amount of money.”
In May, at the Jean Dry Lake Bed, they made history as Nevada’s first student-led team to successfully complete a hot fire test with a liquid bi-propellant engine, the culmination of nearly two years of hard work.
A Club for Everyone
SEDS hosts workshops that help members earn their high power rocketry certification, which allows them to build and launch their own rockets.
A club that literally launches rockets might seem intimidating for some, but SEDS is a space for all. Despite the club's engineering feats and impressive aerospace industry connections, students do not need to be engineering majors to join in on the fun.
SEDS president Chaar says, “We are hoping in the next generations that more majors will join. There is always room for people who work on outreach and media. There is always room for finance individuals to run the numbers and work with the engineers on their budgets and constraints. There is always room for those who love to organize things and manage.”
The reason to join, Chung says, is simple: “If you like space, join us,”
SEDS UNLV members thank Matthew Pusko, Jeff Markle, Huang Chen, Melissa Morris, Brendan O'Toole, Jackson Wolfe, and all the faculty who are helping them accomplish their goals. They also acknowledge the contributions of SEDS alumni Brandon Fallon and Drew N. for getting the club off the ground.
