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CONTEST EMAIL ARCHIVESDate: 05/31/2006 Subject: Blasting Off to Success Blasting Off to Success
Launching rockets is a great way to bring scientific and mathematical principles to life. Just ask McKenzie Howell, a high school valedictorian from Plantation, Fla. She chose to miss her graduation ceremony to attend the Team America Rocketry Challenge. Her school principal allowed her to tape her speech and have it played while she was away. She has been accepted by Dartmouth College and plans to pursue a career in aerospace engineering. A highlight for McKenzie was meeting NASA Associate Administrator Rex Geveden. "McKenzie represents the future of aerospace in our nation, and I couldn't be more encouraged," said Geveden.
The 4th annual Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC), the largest model rocket showcase on the planet, may have launched more than rockets. The competition may have also helped launch a few careers -- or at least provide a little bit of momentum to make those dreams turn into reality. The Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry sponsor the event, and this year's challenge was to design, build and fly a model rocket carrying a raw egg and return it safely to the ground. Rockets had to stay aloft for exactly 45 seconds and reach an altitude of 800 feet. TARC is the world's largest rocket contest, and this year involved 678 teams and nearly 7,000 secondary school students from 47 states in the preliminary competition. The May 20 finals showcased teams representing 32 states and Washington, D.C.
Making it to the TARC competition isn't easy. Teams had to first win a preliminary round of launching. The Top 100 teams in the country were invited to compete at the TARC National Finals at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va., on May 20, 2006. Prizes totaled $60,000, but if you count the exposure and inspiration towards career goals, the value of a win could be priceless.
Representatives from Marshall Space Flight Center attended the event to present the NASA award to the top winners. The highest-ranking 25 teams are invited to submit proposals for the NASA Student Launch Initiative, held in Huntsville, Ala. SLI is a hands-on engineering project where student teams submit a written proposal for designing, building and launching a rocket with a scientific payload. The rocket must travel one mile into the atmosphere. NASA awards $2,500 grants to first-time participating teams, and $1,250 to returning teams.
NASA's partnership with TARC invites a teacher or mentor from the top 25 teams to the Advanced Rocketry Workshop at Marshall each summer. Those teams also qualify to submit a proposal for the SLI program for the following academic year
Their comments were readily accepted by more than a few student rocketeers. McKenzie isn't the only one planning to pursue a career in aerospace engineering. Other graduating seniors will be entering higher education in the fall, and with persistence, their rockets won't be the only things aimed for the stars.
The top 10 winning teams for the 2006 Team America Rocketry Challenge are:
Place, School/Organization, Location, Score
Angela Storey/MSFC
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