{"id":231080,"date":"2026-04-14T11:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/231080\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T11:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:03:09","slug":"usf-rocket-team-students-draw-inspiration-from-artemis-ii-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/231080\/","title":{"rendered":"USF rocket team students draw inspiration from Artemis II mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>USF students said they feel excited for the future of the aerospace industry after Artemis II\u2019s launch and splashdown this month. ORACLE GRAPHIC\/CAROLINA MOLERO ROCA<\/p>\n

Kyle Shum said about 50 members of USF\u2019s Society for Aeronautics and Rocketry<\/a> met in the Interdisciplinary Sciences building\u2019s main lecture hall to watch the Artemis II launch.<\/p>\n

NASA<\/a> launched the Artemis II<\/a> mission on April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center<\/a> \u2014 making it the first crewed mission to orbit the moon since Apollo 17<\/a> in 1972.<\/p>\n

Artemis II\u2019s 10-day mission was also the farthest humans have ever traveled into space, making it a pivotal stepping stone for space exploration and technologies, according to NASA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got all of the club to get in there, and we all watched it on the projector,\u201d Shum said. \u201cIt was really cool,\u201d said Shum, a senior mechanical engineering major and SOAR\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

USF\u2019s SOAR<\/a> club has about 491 members and two teams \u2014 the Torito Liquid Propulsion and the International Rocket Engineering Competition Solid Rocket Propulsion \u2014 that build and launch rockets in various national competitions.<\/p>\n

Shum said he has been involved with SOAR since 2023, when he joined as a member and helped plan and calculate the club\u2019s rocket launches as a lead engineer on the rocket propulsion team.<\/p>\n

Some USF students involved in rocket and aerospace engineering said they\u2019re feeling inspired to stay involved in the field following Artemis II\u2019s splashdown<\/a> off the coast of San Diego.<\/p>\n

Related: USF\u2019s aerospace engineering major fills gap for growing industry<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shum said he initially feared for what would happen if the Artemis II mission did not succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told a lot of people if NASA does not launch [Artemis II] correctly, and it goes wrong in any capacity, whether they have to either emergency, abort the mission, or, God forbid, someone dies, I would say NASA is one step away from being defunded, as things are right now,\u201d Shum said.<\/p>\n

NASA receives about 0.35% of the U.S. federal budget and has consistently remained under 0.5% since 2010, according to The Planetary Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 1969, when NASA launched Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon, it accounted for 2.31% of the federal budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since then, NASA has undergone significant budget cuts affecting its missions and research, and is subject to an additional 47% <\/a>funding cut in 2027.<\/p>\n

Still, Shum said watching Artemis II\u2019s launch through a projector at the USF Tampa campus left him feeling inspired and optimistic about NASA\u2019s future missions and possible budget increases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is a huge success for them, and this would be a major point for them to start regaining some of their budget,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Related: USF student orgs hit with budget cuts as funding shortfall deepens<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drew Brickell is a sophomore mechanical engineering major and the chief engineer of SOAR\u2019s Torito Liquid Propulsion team.<\/p>\n

In his role, Brickell oversees and maintains the \u201corganizational excellence\u201d of various subteams \u2014 much like a NASA mission.<\/p>\n

SOAR alternates between competing in NASA\u2019s Student Launch Challenge<\/a> and the International Rocket Engineering Competition<\/a> based on the club\u2019s budget and competition location.<\/p>\n

Last year, USF\u2019s Engineering Council<\/a> awarded a SOAR rocket with the Innovative Project of the Year for designing and launching a high-powered rocket<\/a> with air brakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SOAR\u2019s last rocket launch was in May 2025 in Alabama, when they competed nationally against 53 other teams in NASA\u2019s Student Launch Challenge and placed No. 18<\/a> for launching a rocket 4,000 feet in the air.<\/p>\n

Brickell said SOAR has pushed him to continue pursuing his passion for aerospace, with the goal of one day working on SpaceX<\/a> programs.<\/p>\n

SpaceX, officially known as Space Exploration Technologies, is a private aerospace and space exploration company known for advances in satellite technology, according to its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many incredible people in [SpaceX], and the experiences that we get are second to none,\u201d Brickell said.<\/p>\n

Brickell said he has been a \u201cspace fan\u201d since childhood, and said NASA\u2019s Artemis II launch meant a lot to him as an aspiring aerospace engineer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been waiting for this for years and years and years, and to see it finally happen has just been incredible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But beyond being a historical launch, Brickell said seeing the Artemis II crew work together as a cohesive, connected team makes him believe this is a core part of space exploration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people are on board, you can connect with it on a much deeper level than if it\u2019s just hardware sending back photos,\u201d Brickell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throughout the mission, NASA posted updates from the crew on Instagram<\/a>, including selfies and photos of the moon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brickell said this crew-audience connection inspired him to continue pursuing his passion for aerospace.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the fractured society we live in right now, getting to just have connectivity, and something that inspires humanity as a whole, is really important right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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