Manchester Youth Rocket Team Qualifies For 2012 Team America Rocketry Challenge National Finals

The rocketry team consisting of 7th to 10th graders from the youth group at the was announced as a finalist for the prestigious Team America Rocketry Challenge National Finals on April 6th. For the third time in the last four years the FBCM group is the only Connecticut team to be selected for the finals based on the best qualifying scores submitted nationwide.

The 10th annual TARC - the world's largest rocket contest - will take place May 12 at Great Meadow Park in The Plains, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.). The finals competition gives middle school and high school students a chance to compete nationally and earn part of a total prize package of $60,000 in scholarships and other prizes. The winning team also earns the chance to attend the International Air Show in Farnborough, England.

The team members  who designed, hand built, tested, and qualified their rocket  are: Luke Powers and Tim Powers of East Hartford, Myranda Olwert of Wethersfield, Ian Beattie of Colchester, and Devin Hood of Manchester. The team's teacher is John St. Jacques of Tolland and the National Association of Rocketry mentor is Dr. Larry Hardin of East Hartford. The team's qualifying efforts were sponsored significantly by Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, and  also by Computer Sciences Corporation in South Windsor who donated a laptop.

"TARC is a great way for students to get real aerospace engineering experience, and it’s also a lot of fun," said Marion Blakey, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association. "We are delighted that Connecticut Team #13257 has joined this important effort.”

About 6,000 students from 678 teams across the country took part in the contest this year. Since TARC’s first contest in 2003, over 50,000 students have participated in the challenge. The Aerospace Industries Association sponsors the contest with the National Association of Rocketry, NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the American Association of Physics Teachers and AIA member companies.

The teams design, build and launch model rockets with a payload of two raw Grade A “eggstronauts.” This year's contest goals are: achieve an altitude of exactly 800 feet, a total flight time of 43-47 seconds, and a safe return to earth via parachute with no cracked eggs.

TARC is aimed at attracting students to science, math and technology education and, ultimately, careers in the aerospace industry. With nearly 60 percent of the aerospace workforce over the age of 50, AIA and other industry leaders hope to spark the interest of future aerospace engineers with programs like TARC. For more information about the Team America Rocketry Challenge visit www.rocketcontest.org.