Aero-TV: 'Out To Launch' - A Closer Look At SpaceX's Latest Milestone (2011-08-30)

Fri, 10 December 2010 . Details Behind Wednesday's Successful COTS Demo 1 Flight We're still all abuzz over the successful SpaceX/NASA collaboration that resulted in the first commercial payload orbited and recovered back to dear old Mother Earth. While ANN's aerospace affiliations have made it easy for us to stay close to the action and the people making it happen, we simply must admit to more than a little envy of all that occurred and the very talented people who made it happen. This is serious hairy-chested real-live rocket science and it would not be unusual, maybe even expected, for them to have had a LOT more trouble with the Falcon9 program by now... but they haven't and history has truly been made. And better yet, SpaceX's Dragon has orbited the Earth and come home safely. Dragon is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Initiated internally by SpaceX in 2005, the Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/or crew members. In December 2008, NASA announced the selection of SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) when the Space Shuttle retires. The $1.6 billion contract represents a minimum of 12 flights, with an option to order additional missions for a cumulative total contract value of up to ...

Aero-TV: AIA's Audrey Koehler - Launching Our Next Generation Pt. 1 (2011-05-31)

Recrafting The Future of Aerospace Recent publications from the Aerospace Industries Association note that, "America's requirement for workers who are well educated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is falling far short of anticipated need. Trends are discouraging, and interest is lacking among American youth. We simply aren't producing enough engineers and non-engineering technical workers, such as hands-on manufacturing labor. Without dramatic change, these needs will go unmet, the future of the American aerospace industry will be bleak and the consequences for the nation will be extreme." The Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA) was founded in 1919, only a few years after the birth of flight. Since then, their mission has taken on myriad forms, but their efforts each year to attract the best and brightest to careers in Aerospace via the Team America Rocketry Challenge are potentially some of the farthest reaching. Through TARC, they not only inspire today's youth to the look to the stars, but they help to craft a future for them and a nation. ANN had the chance to sit down with Audrey Koehler, Manager, of the 2010 Team America Rocketry Challenge to see how this amazing competition got its start, how it is conducted and the what the future holds. The challenge changes from year to year... This year, student teams were challenged to design, build and launch a model rocket to an altitude of 825 feet with a flight time of 40-45 seconds ...

Aero-TV: AIA's Audrey Koehler - Launching Our Next Generation Pt. 2 (2011-05-31)

Recrafting The Future of Aerospace Recent publications from the Aerospace Industries Association note that, "America's requirement for workers who are well educated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is falling far short of anticipated need. Trends are discouraging, and interest is lacking among American youth. We simply aren't producing enough engineers and non-engineering technical workers, such as hands-on manufacturing labor. Without dramatic change, these needs will go unmet, the future of the American aerospace industry will be bleak and the consequences for the nation will be extreme." The Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA) was founded in 1919, only a few years after the birth of flight. Since then, their mission has taken on myriad forms, but their efforts each year to attract the best and brightest to careers in Aerospace via the Team America Rocketry Challenge are potentially some of the farthest reaching. Through TARC, they not only inspire today's youth to the look to the stars, but they help to craft a future for them and a nation. ANN had the chance to sit down with Audrey Koehler, Manager, of the 2010 Team America Rocketry Challenge to see how this amazing competition got its start, how it is conducted and the what the future holds. The challenge changes from year to year... This year, student teams were challenged to design, build and launch a model rocket to an altitude of 825 feet with a flight time of 40-45 seconds ...

Aero-TV: John Langford - The National Association of Rocketry at TARC (2011-05-29)

2010's Amazing Team America Event Is Due To Give Way To 2011's Rendition This May 14, 2011 It was one of Aero-TV's favorite shoots from 2010... The Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) is an aerospace design and engineering event for teams of US secondary school students (7th through 12th grades) run by the NAR and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Teams can be sponsored by schools or by non-profit youth organizations such as Scouts, 4-H, or Civil Air Patrol (but not the NAR or other rocketry organizations). The goal of TARC is to motivate students to pursue aerospace as an exciting career field, and it is co-sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers, 4-H, the Department of Defense, and NASA. The event involves designing and building a model rocket (2.2 pounds or less, using NAR-certified model rocket motors) that carries a payload of 1 Grade A Large egg for a flight duration of 40 - 45 seconds, and to an altitude of exactly 750 feet (measured by an onboard altimeter), and that then returns the egg to earth uncracked using only a 15-inch parachute as a recovery device. Onboard timers are allowed; radio-control and pyrotechnic charges are not. The first eight Team America Rocketry Challenges, held in 2003 through 2010, were the largest model rocket contests ever held. Co-sponsored by the NAR and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the eight events together attracted about 5800 high-school teams made up of a total of over 55000 students ...

Aero-TV: Penn Manor High School - TARC 2010 National Champion (2011-06-27)

The US Champs Have Become The World's Champs! One of the most rewarding events ANN and Aero-TV have participated in over the last year was AIA's extraordinary Team America Rocketry Challenge. Fun, inspiring, challenging... all these words do little to impart the amazing event that we witnessed and shot over the course of a few days... and we can't wait to do it again. However; one of the truly great 'bennies' of this event was meeting the next generation of America's rocket people... and that includes the TARC 2010 National Champions, Penn Manor High School... who went on to the International competition and took ALL the marbles there as well. Student Rocketeers from France, the United Kingdom and the United States competed in late July in the Third Annual Transatlantic Rocketry Challenge. The four-member team from Penn Manor High School in Millersville, PA posted the best score to win the international fly-off. Horsforth School in Leeds, England placed second. The French team was unable to launch its rocket due to technical problems. The international rocketry challenge is the culmination of three separate competitions: the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC), UKAYRoC and the French Rocketry Challenge. Each contest brings together teams of middle and high school students to design, build and launch model rockets. This year the challenge was to launch a rocket that reaches an altitude of 825 feet, stays aloft for 40-45 seconds and returns a raw egg unbroken. As part of ...

Aero-TV: Piece of Cake - Chef Duff Goldman Visits TARC 2010 (2011-05-29)

There's More Than One Way to (Launch) a Cake... As you can plainly see from the other Aero-TV pieces that have been webcast recently, we certainly had a great time at TARC 2010. But... one of the most unusual aspects of TARC was its ability to draw all kinds of people together... like a famous chef, some cake ingredients and a high-speed delivery system. 'Ace of Cakes' Duff Goldman not only visited TARC, he launched a cake at TARC and you had to be there to understand what exquisite insanity this was... but for those of you who didn't make it, Aero-TV will show you what we mean. The eighth annual TARC, the world's largest rocket contest, took place Saturday, May 15, at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va. Qualifying teams of middle- and high-school students had the chance to earn $60000 in scholarships and prizes. AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey, noted that, "It's an exciting time for young people to be exposed to rocketry and all the aerospace industry has to offer. We're seeing a real surge in our industry with TARC alumni taking advantage of exciting career opportunities with many of our member companies." TARC teams were challenged to design, build and launch a model rocket with a raw-egg payload to an altitude of 825 feet and achieve a flight duration between 40 and 45 seconds. The rocket must return the egg safely and unbroken without using a parachute. The goal of the contest was to bolster student interest in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ...

Aero-TV: Rocket Racing League - Diamandis Plans 2010 Exhibition Racing (2011-10-05)

Rocket Racing Readies For Real Races It's been a long road for the on-again, off-again Rocket Racing League, but recent developments suggest that real live races may, in fact, be in our future. XPrize Founder Peter Diamandis updated ANN a few weeks back while celebrated the fifth anniversary of the awarding of the Ansari XPrize. Peter suggests that 2010 could be the year is which we see more than one racer in the air and possibly in exhibition races, while real live races may be but another year away. Last summer, RRL announced the closing of a $5.5 million dollar financing round, which was expected to ensure the next phase of development of the league. It also announced the appointment of a new President & CEO and the commencement of manufacturing activities for its next generation Rocket Racer. To be held at venues across the country, the Rocket Racing League will feature multiple races pitting up to 10 Rocket Racers going head to head in a 4-lap, multiple elimination heat format on a 5-mile "Formula One"-like closed circuit raceway in the sky. The Rocket Racer pilots see the "raceway in the sky" via in-panel and 3D helmet displays. For the hundreds of thousands of fans in attendance, they will witness the racing action live and in real-time display on multiple large projection screens. For the millions of fans watching on televisions and PCs at home, they will experience the thrill of the Rocket Racing League via unique remote and rocket-mounted cameras that give at ...

Aero-TV: Rocketman John Hochheimer - NAR Paves Way For The Next Generation (Part 1) (2011-06-19)

NAR's TARC Mentors Are Providing Valuable Guidance There were many great role models at the recently conducted 2010 Team America Rocketry Challenge... and many of them are NAR members, mentoring the hundreds of kids that took part in TARC2010 -- NAR members like John Hochheimer. The National Association of Rocketry is a nonprofit educational organization for consumers that advances the hobby of sport rocketry through organized events, local clubs, technical certification, research and development, and government and corporate partnerships to ensure that rocketry continues to be safe, educational, and fun. NAR was founded in 1957, and is the oldest and largest sport rocketry association in the world, with over 4500 members and 120 affiliated clubs across the US The Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) is an aerospace design and engineering event for teams of US secondary school students (7th through 12th grades) run by the NAR and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Teams can be sponsored by schools or by non-profit youth organizations such as Scouts, 4-H, or Civil Air Patrol (but not the NAR or other rocketry organizations). The goal of TARC is to motivate students to pursue aerospace as an exciting career field, and it is co-sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers, 4-H, the Department of Defense, and NASA. The event involves designing and building a model rocket (2.2 pounds or less, using NAR-certified model rocket motors totaling no more than ...

Aero-TV: Rocketman John Hochheimer - NAR Paves Way for the Next Generation (Pt. 2) (2011-09-22)

NAR's TARC Mentors Are Providing Valuable Guidance There were many great role models at the recently conducted 2010 Team America Rocketry Challenge... and many of them are NAR members, mentoring the hundreds of kids that took part in TARC2010 -- NAR members like John Hochheimer. The National Association of Rocketry is a nonprofit educational organization for consumers that advances the hobby of sport rocketry through organized events, local clubs, technical certification, research and development, and government and corporate partnerships to ensure that rocketry continues to be safe, educational, and fun. NAR was founded in 1957, and is the oldest and largest sport rocketry association in the world, with over 4500 members and 120 affiliated clubs across the US The Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) is an aerospace design and engineering event for teams of US secondary school students (7th through 12th grades) run by the NAR and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Teams can be sponsored by schools or by non-profit youth organizations such as Scouts, 4-H, or Civil Air Patrol (but not the NAR or other rocketry organizations). The goal of TARC is to motivate students to pursue aerospace as an exciting career field, and it is co-sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers, 4-H, the Department of Defense, and NASA. The event involves designing and building a model rocket (2.2 pounds or less, using NAR-certified model rocket motors totaling no more than ...

Aero-TV: TARC - Northside College Prep School Rocket Team (2011-06-27)

Tomorrow's Future Rocket Scientists Are Flying Model Rockets NOW Meet three uncommon young men... these guys, who could otherwise be out in the world creating the kind of havoc most teens are known for, ventured to the wilds of Virginia several months ago to show that they had the right stuff... along with hundreds of their equally rocket-oriented peers. These three fellows, all hailing from the Northside College Prep High School of Chicago, IL, competed in the 2010 Team America Rocketry Challenge and plainly had a ball.

Aero-TV: Team America Rocketry Challenge - How to Launch an Aerospace Career (2011-05-31)

America's Youth Prove They Can Deal With Aerospace Challenges Under bright blue skies, teams of middle and high-school students from across the country proved to one and all that they, indeed, have the right stuff. With spectacular weather and some of the finest professional and amateur rocket researchers and hobbyists in the world to overlook the proceedings, the 2010 TARC has been judged an unqualified success and we quite agree. A team from Penn Manor High School in Millersville, PA, took first place at the Eighth Annual TARC, Saturday, earning the title of national champion. The enthusiasm these talented students brought forth was truly electric. The four-member team won the world's largest rocket contest after spending months designing, building and test launching their model rocket. The Team America Rocketry Challenge kicked off last September with 669 teams from across the nation vying for a chance to compete among the top 100 qualifying teams at the finals held today outside of Washington, DC The first place team logged the winning score of 26.32. Each point represents a deviation from altitude and time aloft targets, so the lower the score, the better. Marticville Middle School from Pequea, PA, took second place with a score of 30.65, while Bob Jones High School from Madison, Ala., placed third with a score of 31.02. The first and second place teams belong to the same rocket club, Penn Manor Rocket Club, and were mentored by Brian Osmolinski. Osmolinski, a ...

Aero-TV: Third Times a Charm - Ingraham High School's 'Educated Pyros' (2011-06-25)

Science, Technology, Perseverance... and FUN! One of our favorite stories at TARC 2010 unfolded before our cameras as we watched a high school team hit a bad run of luck... one misfire... then another... followed by a last minute (literally) launch that occurred right before the deadline that would have disqualified them from the competition. We were thrilled with their perseverance, their grace under pressure and the fact that even when the pressure was on, they were having fun. The members of the Ingraham High School's 'Educated Pyros' impressed the heck out of us. The Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) is an aerospace design and engineering event for teams of US secondary school students (7th through 12th grades) run by the NAR and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Teams can be sponsored by schools or by non-profit youth organizations such as Scouts, 4-H, or Civil Air Patrol (but not the NAR or other rocketry organizations). The goal of TARC is to motivate students to pursue aerospace as an exciting career field, and it is co-sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers, 4-H, the Department of Defense, and NASA. The event involves designing and building a model rocket (2.2 pounds or less, using NAR-certified model rocket motors totaling no more than 80.0 Newton-seconds of total impulse) that carries a payload of 1 Grade A Large egg for a flight duration of 40 - 45 seconds, and to an altitude of exactly 825 feet (measured by an onboard ...