By CPT Tom Galloway, Math Department Chair at FMS, January 8, 2024
The rocketeers have designed and built their first rocket before winter break and were going to launch this weekend if not for the snow alert postponing our first launch to January 13th, weather permitting. They all engaged collaboratively in their rocket, first designed by Cadet Kim, and later engineered to a higher level by a team effort in the Open Rocket program. They let out cheers and high-fives when they finally got their rocket to launch and recover correctly in the Sim program. They then built their rocket and included some 3d printed parts to be included within the rocket. It was great to see them become involved in some serious engineering and have fun. You can read more about the competition on the American Rocketry Challenge (ARC) Website at https://rocketcontest.org/
Please note that there are scholarship opportunities available for ARC students including the following: “ERAU is dedicated to advancing higher education opportunities for ARC participants. ERAU will grant 10 $20,000 scholarships to deserving American Rocketry Challenge students at its esteemed Daytona and Prescott campuses. For ARC high school seniors, ERAU is accepting applications on a rolling basis. Apply as soon as possible… When you complete your application, use code ARC2024 to waive the $50 application fee.”
From experience, their current rocket looks great and I can hardly wait to see how closely it flies as compared to the simulation, and subsequently, the engineering cycle repeats. Lastly, many thanks for Mr. George Eckart for donating supplies from when he sponsored a TARC team some years ago. We should now have enough parts for a number of rockets, especially chutes.
Currently on the Wandering Stars team are:
Daniel Boyd
Zachary Carroll (tentative)
Luis Galvez-Colon
Vito Gentile
Ivan Gray
Goenu Kim
Gabriel Lamphire (CEO)
Alex Sprouse (tentative)
Thomas Eckart
