Fri, Feb 03, 2012
Tenth Annual Team America Rocketry Challenge Is Set For May
12
Nearly 700 teams of middle and high school students across 48
states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands are gearing
up for the 2012 Team America Rocketry Challenge, the world's
largest student rocket contest and a critical piece of the
aerospace industry's workforce development pipeline. The 10th
anniversary competition is the most challenging in the history of
the event. This year, each team is tasked with designing and
building a rocket carrying a two egg payload to 800 feet and back
during a 43- to 47-second flight without cracking. A strict limit
on liftoff weight forces students to focus on designing the payload
bay while building a lighter, stronger rocket. The top 100 teams
will advance to the National Finals May 12 at Great Meadow in The
Plains, Va.
Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association, the National
Association of Rocketry and more than 30 industry partners, the
contest aims to inspire middle and high school students to pursue
careers in science, math and engineering. "We're thrilled to see
the competition evolve from a one-time celebration of flight to a
true workforce development program," said AIA President and CEO
Marion C. Blakey. "We know the quality and value that TARC alumni
bring to our industry and the competition serves as a model for
other sectors."
With teams hailing from Hoonah, AK, to Pensacola, FL, the
contest includes all-girls teams, a team with members who will be
the first in their family to graduate from high school and a team
from Joplin, MO, whose community was ravaged by a tornado last
May.
In a 2010 TARC alumni survey, approximately 80 percent of
respondents said TARC had a positive impact on their course of
study. Four out of five respondents reported that they plan to
pursue a college major in an area related to science, math or
engineering. "TARC has been a defining factor in my choice to study
engineering," said Landon Fisher, TARC national champion team
member. "The program gave me a way to learn the hands-on side of
engineering and opened up many educational opportunities. Next fall
I plan to head to one of the nation's top aerospace engineering
programs."
Teams are competing for up to $60,000 in scholarships and
prizes, as well as an opportunity to participate in NASA's Student
Launch Initiative. Raytheon Company provides funding for the
winning team to defend America's 2011 championship title at the
international fly-off at the Farnborough International Air Show in
July against teams from the UK and France.
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