Stone students preparing for rocket contest

February 12, 2009 03:29 pm

— Model rockets built by students at Stone Memorial High School will be launched again this spring in the Crossville area. Under the supervision of instructor Tom Tatum, 10 students at SMHS have completed research and are now constructing rockets to qualify for the Team America Rocketry Challenge.
Students meet one day each week following classes to design their rockets, fabricate components and test fittings for the flight model. This year the group will build at least three similar models to carry their fragile payload.
The challenge this year is to launch a grade A hen's egg to an altitude of exactly 750 feet. From liftoff to landing, the flight time must be 45 seconds. A miniature altimeter is carried on board. Any altitude variance or flight time adds penalty points to the flight.
The egg must be returned safely by parachute. To add difficulty to this year's flight, the egg must lie on its side and not placed in an upright position in the rocket body.
Tatum said last year's team learned a great deal when the school qualified for the national fly-off.
"This year, we've got to carefully watch our spending. The club must seek non-school support. Components add up to more than $120 per flight rocket."
Each rocket costs about $25, Tatum added, so students this year are spending more time on computer design and simulations.
"Unfortunately, we may need to conduct 15 to 20 launches before we feel we're set to conduct our qualifying flights," Tatum said. "The competition gets keener every year."
Nationwide qualifying flights occur the first week of April. Over 650 schools, scout troops and 4-H groups are participating in the Challenge this year. Following the qualifying flights, the top 100 teams will be invited to the national fly-off May 15-17 near Manassas, VA.
Over $60,000 in prize money is awarded winning teams. The first place team is awarded an all-expense paid trip the Paris Air Show. Additional prizes include significant engineering scholarships to top team members.
The event is sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). The AIA is comprised of 33 U.S. aerospace firms. The NAR is a nationwide non-profit aero modeling organization that establishes model rocketry rules in the U.S.
Co-sponsors include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Department of Defense (DOD). The American Association of Science Teachers and 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology office are education co-sponsors.

Photos

Rocket club member Tyler Power checks fit of a balsa nose cone to the rocket body payload chamber. The competition flight rocket, when completed, will contain the payload and an altimeter. The entire rocket is recovered by parachute.

Student Gary Branch hands a miniature altimeter to Instructor Tom Tatum. The tiny device measures the altitude achieved by the rocket and is accurate to one foot. Commercially manufactured solid propellant engines are used to power the rockets.

Ryan Wallace, left, and Jacob Young check out rocket data on a computer. Rocket manufacturers provide specialized computer programs to assist modelers in conducting simulated rocket flights. Modelers do not construct their own motors.

James Mitchell, left, and Darrin Craig hold the first of three competition models being built for both test flights and Team America qualification flights. The rockets are built from high strength paper tubing, balsa wood and basswood fin material.

SMHS Rocket Club members hold a scale model of a Patriot missile. They are, from left, Gary Branch, Alex Walker, James Mitchell, Ryan Wallace, Jacob Young, Darrin Craig and Robert Cooper. Not pictured is Tyler Powers.

Alex Walker, left, and Robert Cooper check a test vehicle. A variety of model rockets is used by the club to check rocket stability. All models carry a recovery device, usually a parachute.

Pictured is the rocket made by the SMHS Rocket Club as it takes off from the launch pad.