Team America Rocketry Challenge Opens Registration

Registration for the 2011 edition of the world's largest rocket competition is open now through November 30. The Team America Rocketry Challenge will accept up to 750 student teams in grades 7-12 from any U.S. school, home school or non-profit youth organization.

The annual rocket contest, sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association, challenges teams of three to 10 students to design and build a rocket that will climb to 750 feet with a raw egg payload and stay aloft for 40 to 45 seconds. The egg must then return to earth unbroken. "The Team America Rocketry Challenge is a vital part of our industry's outreach to young people," said Marion C. Blakey, AIA president and CEO. "TARC provides a great opportunity for students to work with scientists and engineers and learn in an exciting and fun environment."

The top 100 TARC team finalists will be notified April 8 that they have earned a spot in the May 14 competition just outside of Washington, DC. Student participants compete for $60,000 in prizes, scholarships and a trip to the 2011 international air show in Paris for an international "Fly-Off" with student teams from France and the UK. AIA sponsors TARC with the National Association of Rocketry, NASA, the Defense Department, the American Association of Physics Teachers and AIA member companies. The contest is in its ninth year and is proving to be a catalyst for generating student interest in math and science.

2009 TARC Winners

The aerospace industry is actively looking for young people to join its ranks. The industry is facing a future workforce shortage as many employees will reach retirement age in the next decade. A recent Aviation Week and Space Technology survey found that almost 40 percent of the workforce is over the age of 50.

FMI: www.rocketcontest.org, www.LaunchIntoAerospace.org