Team from Canton, GA Wins Second Place In Student Rocketry Challenge Final At Farnborough

Five students from Creekview High School of Canton, GA took home silver medals in the seventh annual International Rocketry Challenge at the Farnborough International Air Show. The U.S. team, sponsored by Raytheon won second place, while the French team captured first and the U.K. team took third.

Competing teams designed, built and launched rockets with a goal of reaching an altitude of exactly 825 feet during a 48- to 50-second flight window. The payload, two raw hen eggs, had to return to the ground undamaged using two identical parachutes. Scores are determined by how close teams come to the required height and time; cracked eggs disqualify the flight.

The five-member team representing the United States consists of Amanda Semler, 18; Andrew White, 16; Nick Dimos, 16; Austin Bralick, 16; and Bailey Robertson, 15. The team posted the top flight score of 9.88 and was just nine feet shy of the target altitude. The team from France posted the next highest flight score of 448.32 followed by the UK team with a flight score of 715.2.

The students also gave a presentation on their rocket design to a panel of international judges at Raytheon's air show headquarters. The judges' score counted for 40 percent of their total score.

"I had a great time being out here with all of the other people from different countries and meeting other people with similar interests," said Team Captain Amanda Semler."I hope it will inspire other women to get into the industry and reach their dreams."

The International Rocketry Challenge is the culmination of three separate competitions held annually around the globe: the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA); the United Kingdom Aerospace Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKAYRoC) sponsored by ADS, the UK Aerospace, Defense, Security and Space association; and the French Rocketry Challenge sponsored by Groupement des Industries Francaises Aeronautiques et Spatiales, the French aerospace industries association. Each contest brings together teams of middle and high school students to design, build and launch model rockets with the goal of inspiring young minds to become engaged in science, technology, engineering and math.

"The knowledge, discipline and commitment displayed by students to make it to this level of competition is extraordinary," said Thomas A. Kennedy, CEO of Raytheon. "By celebrating student achievement on a global stage, Raytheon hopes to inspire more students to challenge themselves to share their knowledge and natural curiosity as they collaborate to uncover winning solutions."

This is the ninth year that Raytheon has supported the U.S. team's trip to the international air show. The program is part of the company's broad-based MathMovesU initiative to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

"The ingenuity and determination displayed today by the U.S. team is a powerful indicator that young Americans remain committed to excellence in STEM-related fields," said AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey. "I am confident that students like these will continue to bolster America's global leadership in aerospace for generations to come."

(U.S. team image provided by Raytheon)

FMI: www.rocketcontest.org