Student Teams To Build And Fly Rockets With Onboard Payloads For
NASA Rocketry Challenge
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Organizers of the NASA Student Launch Projects have announced the
57 student teams whose inventive creations will soar skyward in
April during the space agency's 2012-13 rocketry challenge.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)
Representing schools in 26 states around the country,
participating teams each will design and build a large,
high-powered rocket, complete with a working science or engineering
payload and capable of flying to the target altitude of 1 mile.
NASA created the rocketry challenge to encourage young people to
pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) fields.
"Every year, the NASA Student Launch Projects build on our
students' classroom studies in an energizing, exciting way," said
Tammy Rowan, manager of the Academic
Affairs Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., which organizes
the event. "It's great fun, but it also reflects the real-world
complexity of planning missions, building flight hardware and
completing tough pre-flight checks and reviews. It tests their
problem-solving skills and gives them practical, hands-on
experience. We hope the experience is so unforgettable it leads
many of them to become the nation's next generation of scientists,
engineers and space explorers."
Twenty-one middle school and high school teams will take part in
the Student Launch Initiative, which is non-competitive. Thirty-six
college and university teams will compete in the University Student
Launch Initiative with a $5,000
first-place award provided by ATK Aerospace Group of Salt Lake City going to the winner.
"We are proud to be sponsoring NASA's Student Launch Competition
for the sixth year," said Kent
Rominger, a former astronaut who is vice president of
business development for ATK's Space Launch Division. "Each year we
are impressed with the level of skill and knowledge these students
exhibit. We are very optimistic and excited about the caliber of
individuals that could become our future work force."
Building the powerful rockets and designing and integrating the
onboard engineering or science payloads are only two parts of the
challenge. Teams also must maintain detailed preliminary and
post-launch reports, and build and regularly update a public
website to document their rocket-building experience. Each team
also will develop an educational engagement program to inspire and
educate younger students in their local school system and
community.
In 2013, the teams will travel to Marshall, where their rockets will undergo a
series of intensive reviews and safety inspections -- a
smaller-scale version of the rigorous processes applied to the
nation's space vehicles. The culmination of their work is set for
April 21, when the students launch
their creations one by one into the skies over northern
Alabama. Each will be seeking the
elusive 1-mile altitude goal, as well as a variety of annual awards
for vehicle design, engineering excellence and team spirit.
The 26 states represented are Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, New Mexico,
New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. For a complete list of middle and
high school teams, and more information about the challenge,
visit:
http://education.msfc.nasa.gov/sli
For a list of the university teams, visit:
http://education.msfc.nasa.gov/usli
The NASA Student Launch Projects are sponsored jointly by NASA's
Human Exploration and Operations and Science mission
directorates.
For more information about NASA education initiatives,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/education
SOURCE NASA