AEDC-sponsored Team America Rocketry Challenge team competes at national competition

  • Published
  • By Deidre Ortiz
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  The Lebanon High School rocketry team, sponsored by the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program at AEDC, had the opportunity to compete in the 14th annual Team America Rocketry Challenge, a national finals competition.

Made up of four juniors Kevin Brown, Olivia Fancher, Christina Greer and Emma Naylor, the LHS team faced the country's top rocketry teams May 14 at the TARC Final Fly-Off held in The Plains, Va. Their performance resulted in an altitude of 874 feet and 38 second flight, only 6 seconds short of the competition goal. Their final score was a 51.08, which earned the team a national ranking of 55 out of the top 100 in the nation.

According to Tammy Shepard, a science teacher and team mentor, all involved were proud of this year's results, as the team achieved its goal of beating last year's score of a 74 and national placement of 62.

"Determination, strength, drive and grit are all words that I would use to describe this team," said Shepard. "Their hard work and dedication to learning the field of rocketry has earned them a second trip to nationals in the past four years. This is not an easy feat to accomplish! There are approximately 780 teams in the Team America Rocketry Challenge from across the United States. They are all trying to qualify for one of the top 100 spots at Nationals."

Shepard added the road to success hasn't been easy for the team.

"What you have here is a team who has learned to overcome the tragedies of crashes, rocket performance issues, faulty motors from the manufacturers, poor weather conditions, scheduling conflicts and many more roadblocks to become the number one team in the state of Tennessee and a top 100 nationals team... I am extremely proud of Emma, Olivia, Christina and Kevin for their drive to be the best rocketeers in the nation! I can't wait to see what the future holds for these young aerospace engineers."

TARC, an aerospace and defense industry flagship program, is designed to encourage students to pursue study and careers in STEM. The rules of the challenge this year required the students' rocket to carry two raw eggs to reach 850 feet before returning the eggs to land unscathed within a 44 to 46 second time frame. The teams compete for more than $100,000 in scholarships and prizes and the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the International Rocketry Challenge, which will be taking place at the Farnborough Airshow outside of London in July.

Prior to their trip to Virginia, the team stopped in at Arnold Air Force Base to meet and speak with AEDC Commander Col. Rodney Todaro, who congratulated the students on their efforts.

-AEDC-