Tarleton Aeronautical Team set to compete at NASA launch challenge

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STEPHENVILLE (April 3, 2018 ) — The roar of rockets racing to reach a mile above Earth will echo across the fields of north Alabama this week as U.S. teams, including the Tarleton Aeronautical Team, compete in the 2018 NASA-sponsored Student Launch challenge.

Sixty selected teams representing 23 states will vie for top honors April 4 through 7 near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Launches begin at 8 a.m. Saturday.

This marks the fifth year the Tarleton Aeronautical Team has participated in the NASA Student Launch challenge, placing in the Top 3 in three different competitions leading up to the 2018 event.

Tarleton’s 2018 team members are: Carl Blake, junior mechanical engineering technology major; Christoffer Dyrssen, senior computer science major; Grayson Easterling, sophomore electrical engineering major; Zachary Hayden and Jonathan Kelley, both junior mechanical engineering majors; Cierra Hawk and Lizmarie Irizarrylallave, both senior technical writing majors; and Michael Osei, junior computer science major.

Steve Merwin, Tarleton mathematics instructor, is team adviser.

Representing Tarleton State University at this year’s NASA-sponsored Student Launch challenge are Tarleton Aeronautical Team members (l-r) Christoffer Dyrssen, Michael Osei, Zachary Hayden, Cierra Hawk, Johnathan Kelley, Grayson Easterling and adviser Steve Merwin. Bottom image: The Tarleton team designed and built a deployable rover as its payload that will fly one mile above earth in a high-powered rocket during this week’s NASA competition near Huntsville, Ala. Launches are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 7.

In its 18th year, the competition challenges students to design, build, test and fly a high-powered, reusable rocket to an altitude of 5,280 feet—or one mile above ground level—while carrying a payload.

College and university teams select one of three payload options to design, test and demonstrate during launch. Choices include an onboard camera system capable of identifying and differentiating targets; a rover that will deploy from the rocket after the rocket lands, move 5 feet and then deploy its own solar cells; or an onboard system that triangulates the rocket’s landing coordinates based on markers in the recovery zone. Middle and high school teams will design their own scientific or engineering payload.

Teams have spent the past eight months preparing for the Student Launch challenge. In addition to building and preparing their rocket and payload, teams created and executed an education and outreach program to share their work with their communities and to help inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers.

Other 2018 college/university challenge teams represent Auburn, Cal Poly, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Florida State, Georgia Institute of Technology, Iowa State, North Carolina, Penn State, Oregon State, Purdue, Texas Tech, the U.S. Naval Academy, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, among others.

Student Launch is managed by the Academic Affairs Office at Marshall Space Flight Center to further NASA’s major education goal of attracting and encouraging students to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

“We’re excited to engage students in hands-on challenges that connect classroom theory to applications in real-world, working environments,” said Katie Veal Wallace, Student Launch manager. “Throughout the process, students interact with NASA scientists and engineers, better preparing them for success in future aerospace and engineering careers.”

Teams were required to submit a proposal for review by NASA subject matter experts. Teams were then chosen based on description of their rocket, its recovery system, payload, safety and educational engagement plans.

Launches air live this Saturday, April 7, on NASA TV. To watch the competition, go to www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public.

NASA and Orbital ATK provide awards for Best Design, Altitude, Safety and others, and Orbital ATK provides an overall cash prize of $5,000 to the highest-ranking college/university team. The National Space Club (Huntsville Chapter) provides a $2,500 award to the second-place team.

Student Launch contributes to the future development of NASA projects and aligns with current research, such as addressing potential technical issues for the agency’s Journey to Mars or to other deep-space destinations on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket.

For more information about the NASA Student Launch, visit www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/studentlaunch/home.

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