The Mississippi State University Rocket Team and NAR
Section #695 want to announce the first MSU Space Cowboys
Middle School Launch Challenge (MSLC). It will be held
April 12, 2008 at Mississippi State University. The
winning team will win $1,000 School teams and other groups
(girl scouts, boy scouts, etc) from any state are welcome
and encouraged to participate.
The MSU Space Cowboys Middle School Launch Challenge is a
contest for middle school students (6-8th grades) to
design, build, test, and fly a rocket with a scientific
payload to 800 ft. AGL. Emphasis will also be placed on
two written papers that will be due in the course of the
contest. This contest is designed to introduce middle
school students to not only rocketry, but to aspects of
mission planning and teamwork coming together to achieve a
successful mission. Flight reviews, budgeting, scheduling,
logistics, teamwork, and safety are all important key
topics (in addition to the vehicle and its flight) that
will addressed in this competition.
The contest will be divided into two distinct sections:
the flight of the rocket and review papers. The review
papers are designed similar to what real NASA engineers
have to present prior to their launches. The papers for
this contest show insight that the team has gained in the
course of design and construction, and testing and
validation. Each paper will be 3-5 pages in length.
Feedback will be received from the Space Cowboys.
The flight itself will be graded by: whether or not the
team conducts themselves professionally, all safety
guidelines and rules followed, successful flight,
successful recovery, and altitude. Safety is paramount on
launch day. Unsafe rockets or rocketeers will not be
allowed to launch under any circumstances. The contest
launch will be conducted in accordance with the guidelines
set out by the National Association of Rocketry.
The top three winners of the contest will receive a cash
prize in the name of their school/organization. The total
purse for this contest is $1,350, with $1,000 going to the
winning school. There will also be other prizes handed out
on launch day.
TIMELINE
February 1, 2008 – Entry Forms Due
March 14, 2008 – Progress Reports Due
April 7, 2008 – Readiness Review Due
April 12, 2008 - Launch Day – Mississippi State University
Contact Joy Sills at jes214@msstate,edu or (601) 750 0325
for more information
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