Sat, Apr 11, 2009
Top 100 Teams Will Compete In May Event
The top 100 student rocketry teams
in the country are ready for the final round of competition of the
Team America Rocketry Challenge next month after AIA announced the
qualifiers for the fly-off on Friday.
The seventh annual TARC -- the world's largest rocket contest --
will take place May 16 at Great Meadow in The Plains, VA. The final
competition gives middle and high school students a chance to earn
part of a total prize package of $60,000 in scholarships and other
prizes.
"An impressive number of teams took part in the initial round of
the competition," AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey said. "I am
looking forward to seeing how these young finalists -- hopefully
many of whom will be future employees -- respond to this year's
challenge."
The teams design, build and launch model rockets with a raw-egg
payload that must return to the ground unbroken. This year's
contest goals are an altitude of 750 feet and a flight time of 45
seconds. The rockets must transport the egg laid horizontally to
mimic the position of an astronaut.
AIA co-sponsors the event with the National Association of
Rocketry in conjunction with NASA, the Defense Department, the
American Association of Physics teachers and 34 AIA member
companies. The goal of the contest is to bolster student interest
in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics -- STEM --
education in an effort to attract young people to aerospace
careers.
Two AIA companies provide premium prizes. Raytheon will once
again provide a fully paid trip for the winning team to the
International Paris Air Show in June. And Lockheed Martin will
provide $5,000 scholarships to each of the top three teams. NASA
also invites top teams to participate in advanced rocketry
programs.
A total of 653 teams from 45 states and the District of Columbia
took part in the qualifying rounds of competition. A list of the
finalists is available at the FMI link below.
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