United Launch Alliance Announces K-12 Student Rocket Launch Payloads
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has selected K-12 student “payloads” to launch atop its intern-built sport rocket at this summer’s Student Rocket Launch. The event, sponsored by ULA and Ball Aerospace, offers a unique, hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) experience centered on inspiring the next generation of rocket scientists. ULA and Ball selected the July 20 launch date in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
The Student Rocket Launch program offers students from kindergarten through graduate school hands-on experience working with rockets and payloads. Payloads are objects, experiments or instruments launched on and deployed (if desired) from the rocket. A payload can be almost anything a team can create within the provided guidelines. Projects this year include data sensors, drones, rovers and a scale model of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module.
ULA intern volunteers design, build and refurbish the high-power sport rocket – dubbed “Future Heavy Super Sport” – while volunteer interns from Ball Aerospace and K-12 students design and build payloads that launch on the rocket.
“Today’s students are tomorrow’s scientists, engineers, explorers, innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “The Student Rocket Launch gives students from kindergarten through graduate school hands-on experience designing, problem-solving and innovating with the added experience of launching their work thousands of feet above the ground.”
The 2019 Student Rocket Launch will take place July 20 at Fort Carson, Colorado, which is located south of Colorado Springs. The payloads will launch on the Future Heavy Super Sport rocket, a high-power sport rocket built and refurbished by ULA interns.
Since 2009, ULA’s summer interns built and launched high-power sport rockets carrying payloads designed and built by Ball Aerospace interns as part of the Ball Intern Remote Sensing Team (BIRST) program. In 2010, ULA opened the opportunity up to K-12 student teams, and the company introduced a competition element in 2018. ULA and Ball interns volunteer to participate in the program in addition to their “day jobs” at the aerospace companies.
“The Ball Aerospace interns are an exceptional group of diverse students from 44 colleges and universities, who are pursuing careers in STEM fields that are of importance to the aerospace industry,” said Rob Strain, president, Ball Aerospace. “The BIRST program and our long-standing partnership with ULA enable our interns to experience a real-world mission from the design phase of a payload all the way to launch.”
When submitting their proposals, teams chose whether they wanted to compete for a chance to win up to $5,000 for their school or sponsoring nonprofit organization by guiding their payload closest to a designated ground-based target. Teams choosing not to compete create a payload with a mission objective of their choosing.
2019 Student Rocket Launch K-12 Payload Teams
California
· Ann Sobrato High School (Morgan Hill, CA)
o Generic Drone Name*
· Destiny Christian Elementary School (Rocklin, CA)
o Roaring Chicken
· Brookside Elementary School (Oak Park, CA)
o The Order of the Eggs
· Downey High School (Downey, CA)
o The RC Paraglider*
· Newport Christian School (Newport Beach, CA)
o NCS Weather Radar
Colorado
· Boulder High School (Boulder, CO)
o Curio*
o The Sky Crane*
o Cole*
· Impact Tae Kwon Do (Highlands Ranch, CO)
o In-flight Dynamic Environments Measurements
· Monarch High School (Louisville, CO)
o Tanky McTankface
· Peak to Peak Charter (Lafayette, CO)
o Capturing the Moment
o Greenhouse Gas Assessment Apparatus
o Kinderducks*
o Operation Falling Weather
o Smorgasbord
· Ralston Valley High School (Arvada, CO):
o The Fruits of Labor
o The Egg-Ceptional Payload
· Silverton School (Silverton, Colorado)
o Can You Dig It?
· Smoky Hill High School (Centennial, CO)
o Apollo LM Tribute
· STEM School Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch, CO)
o Gone Home*
o Lookout Below
Florida
· Edgewood High School (Merritt Island, FL)
o ELT-1*
New Mexico
· Santa Fe Composite Squadron (Santa Fe, NM)
o Civil Air Patrol Autonomous Emergency Delivery System*
Oregon
· Catlin Gabel School (Tigard, OR)
o CGSMAP*
Texas
· Team Astrocube (Austin, TX)
o Astrocube
* Denotes a competition team
About ULA
With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the world’s most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered 133 missions to orbit that provide Earth observation capabilities, enable global communications, unlock the mysteries of our solar system and support life-saving technology.
For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation atwww.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch.
About Ball Aerospace
Powered by endlessly curious people with an unwavering mission focus, Ball Aerospace pioneers discoveries that enable our customers to perform beyond expectation and protect what matters most. We create innovative space solutions, enable more accurate weather forecasts, drive insightful observations of our planet, deliver actionable data and intelligence, and ensure those who defend our freedom go forward bravely and return home safely. For more information, visitwww.ball.com/aerospace or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
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