Suggested Searches

3 min read

A Homecoming and New Faces for NASA Student Launch

“Home-sweet-home, Alabama” seems appropriate, as well as conveniently clichéd, as the 2015 NASA Student Launch returns its highly successful launch-fest back to North Alabama for its 15th-year anniversary. Dozens of middle/high school and university/college students will launch high-powered rockets April 11, 2015, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama.

Students and team members from Northwest Indian College stand next to their rocket at a NASA event.
Students and team members from Northwest Indian College stand next to their rocket at a NASA event.
NASA

“It’s great to be back to Huntsville,” said Tammy Rowan, manager of Marshall’s Academic Affairs Office. “We are very proud of last year’s successes in Utah, but our backyard allows access to Marshall’s world-class facilities, as well as the use of our official visitor center, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, in Huntsville.”

Though the launch site may be familiar to veteran teams, the requirements are not. In addition to the awards provided by long-time corporate sponsor, Orbital ATK of Promontory, Utah, Student Launch has partnered with the NASA Centennial Challenges program to up the ante of requirements, expectations and potential prizes.

NASA Centennial Challenges, the agency’s prize program for citizen inventors, holds competitions to generate revolutionary solutions to problems of interest to NASA and the nation. The introduction of this new facet highlights NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle — the rocket affiliated with a proposed Mars Sample Return lander mission.

“We are excited to see how teams approach the combined challenges of the launch and the autonomous tasks we have added,” said Centennial Challenges Program Manager Sam Ortega. “Our journey to other parts of our solar system will be greatly aided by this technology, helping us to collect and return samples for analysis before we send humans.”

Universities and colleges will participate in either the Mini-MAV or the Maxi-MAV divisions. For Mini-MAV, teams must use a robotic system to autonomously load a payload into their rocket, launch to 3,000 feet and eject the payload during descent. The Maxi-MAV teams will attempt to meet more autonomous requirements before launching to 3,000 feet while competing for a share of $50,000 in prize money.

The Centennial Challenges program is part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and is managed by NASA Marshall. Since 2005, the program has awarded more than $6 million for significant advances in technology.

Participating middle school and high school teams will launch to an altitude of one mile, deploy onboard science experiments, and land safely using a system of recovery parachutes.

Though bragging rights and prizes are on the line, everyone wins at this real-world challenge. Students apply their day-to-day classroom content into authentic projects and results. Their successes today will parlay into impressive resume highlights as they pursue their goals of working in engineering and aerospace industries.

Student Launch is managed by Marshall’s Academic Affairs Office with funding, leadership and management provided by NASA’s Office of Education, NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, and Orbital ATK. The Centennial Challenges program is managed at Marshall and is supported by the Space Technology Mission Directorate.

For more information about Student Launch, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/education/studentlaunch

Student Launch is open to the public and will be covered live on NASA Television, as well as Marshall’s Ustream and Twitter accounts:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc

https://twitter.com/NASA_Launchfest

Angela Storey
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
angela.storey@nasa.gov

Janet Anderson
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama.
254-544-6162
janet.l.anderson@nasa.gov