North Little Rock students set to compete in American Rocketry Challenge finals

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A group of North Little Rock students are blasting off to compete in a national rocketry contest.

The LISA Academy North Middle-High School students were among 100 national finalists for the May 18 competition in Plains, Virginia. According to the challenge’s website, they were the only team from Arkansas that qualified.

This year’s competition featured a record 922 teams and more than 5,000 students from 45 states.

School officials said this was the first time the LISA team qualified for the national finals after competing in 2022 and 2023.

Each team was required to design, build, and launch model rockets that could safely carry one large hen egg to an altitude of 820 feet, stay airborne for between 43 and 46 seconds, and safely return to the ground. After reaching altitude the rocket must separate into two parts: One contains the egg and altimeter, and the second holds the rocket motor. Both parts must land with their own parachutes.

The top 25 teams automatically receive invitations to NASA’s Student Launch workshop.

Winners of the American competition will compete in the international competition in July in England.

Representatives said the American Rocketry Challenge is an aerospace and defense industry program that encourages students to pursue careers in STEM disciplines. This is the challenge's 22nd year.

from KARK https://ift.tt/rtLGZI9