The
Kirby-Smith Middle School Challenger Learning Center S.T.a.R. Interns are competing in the Team America Rocketry Challenge, the largest model rocket showcase on the planet.
A total of 690 teams from 48 states and the District of Columbia are participating in the first stage of the challenge. Each team is required to design, build and fly a model rocket to 750 feet with two raw eggs on-board. If the rocket reaches this altitude, flies 45 seconds and lands without breaking the eggs, the team receives a qualification score. If the score is one of the 100 best, the team is eligible to participate in the national finals in Virginia on May 17.
The top 10 teams in Virginia will split $60,000 in scholarships, and the first-place winner will travel to Paris, France for an international competition.
The students at Kirby-Smith competing for the right to attend the national finals are eighth graders Dalton Carter, Stacy Woodside, Jonathan Phillipps, Justin Drouin, Gabi Zablan and Alysse Machuca.
These students must schedule no more than two qualification flights in the actual presence of a senior member of the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). They are allowed to have practice flights before and after their qualification flights.
The
Team America Rocketry Challenge, which is sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and NAR, is designed to encourage students to study math and science, and pursue careers in aerospace.
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