NB team named national finalist in rocket contest

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 24 ñ The Aerospace Industries Association recently announced the finalists for the Team America Rocketry Challenge ñ the worldís largest model rocket contest for high school students.
A team from North Branch High School, under the guidance of Irv Geary, was one of the finalist chosen to compete in the national competition.
A field of nearly 900 high school teams ñ more than 9,000 studentsówas narrowed down in regional fly-offs to the top ranking 100 teams.
The students were asked to design, build and test a model rocket that could fly as close to 1,500 feet as possible with a payload of two raw eggs, and then parachute the eggs back to the ground unbroken.
The final 100 teams come from 36 states across the nation, including the District of Columbia. Along with North Branch, teams from Apple Valley and Saint Anthony Village also advanced to the finals.
The finalists will compete at the Team America national fly-off to be held May 10 in The Plains, VA.
The top five winning teams will share a prize pool of $50,000 in savings bonds and $9,000 in cash. The contest is the first national rocket competition for high school teams and is sponsored by AIA and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR).
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has contributed additional prizes, including a chance for students to build an advanced rocket and the opportunity for teachers to attend an advanced NASA rocketry workshop, meet with NASA engineers, and tour the Marshall Space Flight Center.
AIA President and CEO John W. Douglass said that the contest was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight, and to encourage students to enter careers in aerospace fields.
The requirements for the contest are rigorous and extremely challenging, he said, and proved to be quite difficult for high school students.
Nevertheless, one team in the regional fly-offs reported a qualifying flight that hit the 1,500 foot altitude requirement perfectly.
Douglass said the national fly-off would be a golden opportunity for colleges to recruit high school students for aerospace engineering studies.
ìSome of the sharpest and most creative young minds are taking part in this contest,î he said, ìTomorrowís aerospace engineers ñ the ones who will design and fly the next generation of military aircraft, or develop spacecraft with solar sail technologies ñ are cutting their teeth on these model rockets.î
Guests at the finals include NASA administrator Sean OíKeefe, and NASA engineer and author Homer Hickam, the original ìrocket boyî who inspired the movie ìOctober Sky,î and Art Stephenson, Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center. In addition, Jay Apt, a NASA astronaut who flew four times as a mission specialist on the space shuttle, has agreed to be one of the two range safety officers for the competition.
For information about AIAís Team America Rocketry Challenge, visit www.rocketcontest.org.

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