350 US Rocketeers To Compete

NASA is grooming a new generation of scientists, engineers, and technicians through a set of rocket competitions.  The challenge: design and build powerful vehicles capable of reaching a mile in altitude, complete with a working science payload.

The list of 37 teams invited to compete in the 2009-2010 NASA Student Launch Projects includes fourteen middle and high schools teams and twenty three university teams. 

Teams from middle schools and high schools teams are eligible to participate in the Student Launch Initiative (SLI) for up to two years. Each receives a $3,700 grant and a travel stipend from NASA their first year and an additional $2,450 grant if they qualify a second time. To qualify for an invitation from the space agency, teams must place high in regional competitions: the Rockets for Schools competition in Wisconsin or the Team America Rocketry Challenge in Virginia.

The University SLI (USLI) has teams from colleges and universities submit proposals directly to NASA for evaluation and selection. Procedures after acceptance will follow standard NASA program protocols with a Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review, and Flight Readiness Review conducted by a NASA-selected panel.

USLI teams get no money from NASA; instead they must seek funding directly from their state's Space Grant Consortium.  ATK Space Systems of Magna, Utah, contributes prizes to the event, including a $5,000 check for the first-place USLI team.

Since their inception in 2006, the Student Launch Projects hold their final launch competitions at Bragg Farms in Toney, AL, in close proximity to NASA's Marshal Space Flight Center. 

FMI: www.nasa.gov