The American Rocketry Challenge is an annual American model rocketry competition for students in grades six to 12 sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry.[1] Co-sponsors include NASA, United States Department of Defense, the American Association of Physics Teachers and the Civil Air Patrol.[2] Previously known as the "Team America Rocketry Challenge," the name was changed following the 2019 event.
The event receives local and national media coverage and usually draws well-known representatives of the Defense Department, NASA, the FAA, and other government agencies. Past National Fly-Offs have been attended by United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Rocket Boys author Homer Hickam, former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, and former NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden.[3]
The 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017 International Fly-Offs were won by the American winners of TARC.[4] [5] [6] [7]
The competition began in 2002 celebration of 100th anniversary of the flight, but due to a high level of interest became an annual occurrence.[8] ARC fosters interest in aerospace engineering careers among its participants, and the National Fly-Off in May is an opportunity for corporations, universities, and the armed services to attract students. The program rebranded in 2019 to the American Rocketry Challenge.
The requirements for each year's challenge are announced during the summer. Teams generally meet early in the school year, and must make official qualifying flights by early April. A team only has three chances to fly an official qualification attempt; only scores from flights that meet the contest requirements, are safe, and don't break the egg can be submitted. Typically, about 60 percent of participating teams submit at least one qualification score. The teams with the top 100 qualifying scores submitted in April compete in the National Fly-off that is held during May at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia.
ARC challenges students to design, build and launch rockets that can safely carry one, two, or three raw hen eggs (depending on the year's challenge) and consistently come very close to a specified flight altitude and duration. Success requires excellent design, workmanship, and altitude prediction, which means students can learn about engineering, aerodynamics, meteorology, and computer simulation through the program. Scores are calculated as deductions from the perfect flight; the lower the score, the better. The sum of the difference between altitude and the target altitude and four times the difference between duration and the target duration. Many teams consistently achieve scores less than 10.[9]
The top 10 teams receive a share of $100,000 in scholarships and prizes, and the top 25 teams are invited to submit a proposal for one of 15 spots in NASA's Student Launch Initiative. There are additional awards sponsored by AIA member corporations in various categories.
It is starting in 2008, the winners of the U.S. competition have been awarded a trip to either the Paris Air Show or the Farnborough Airshow, courtesy of Raytheon Company, to compete with the winners from other participating countries. The United Kingdom and France currently have similar competitions and compete in the international fly-offs; organizations from Germany, Canada and Japan are in the initial planning stages for starting their own competition.
The program has picked up the following awards:
In 2013, Marion C. Blakey, President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, and Susan Lavrakas, AIA’s Director of Workforce, received Aviation Week & Space Technology’s Laureate Award in the workforce category for the association’s outstanding STEM education activities, including the Team America Rocketry Challenge. [10] [11]
In 2014, the National Aeronautic Association named AIA and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) the 2014 recipients of the Frank G. Brewer Trophy. The award serves to recognize an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization for significant contributions of enduring value to aerospace education in the United States.[12] [13]
In 2015, the National Coalition for Aviation and Space Education (NCASE) selected the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry to receive its Dr. Mervin K. Strickler Aerospace Education Award, in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the field of aerospace education.[14]
| Contest Year | National Finals Launch Date | Participating Teams | Egg Count | Altitude Goal | Duration Goal | Other Contest Parameters | Teams with Qualifying Flights | Finals Cutoff Score | National Finals Winner | Winning Score | Special Guests | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | May 10, 2003 | 873 | 2 | 1500feet | - | Rocket must have two stages. | 275 | Boonsboro High School, Boonsboro, MD | 0 | U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, Rocket Boys author Homer Hickam, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe | First annual TARC contest. | ||
| 2003-04 | May 15, 2004 | 610 | 2 | 1250feet | - | Rocket must have two stages. | 201 | Penn Manor High School, Millersville, PA | 0 | U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, U.S. Astronauts Jay Apt and Charlie Walker, Estes Founder Vern Estes | |||
| 2004-05 | May 22, 2005 | 712 | 1 or 2 | - | 60 s | 1 or 2 stages; bonus for more complex designs | 271 | Dakota County 4-H Federation, Farmington, MN | 0.1 | U.S. Astronaut Jay Apt, NASA Associate Administrator Adeena Loston | Full scale Goddard rocket launch, USMC Presidential Helicopter Squadron flyover[15] | ||
| 2005-06 | May 20, 2006 | 678 | 1 | 800feet | 45 s | - | 393 | 21.15 | Statesville Christian School, Statesville, NC | 1.79 | Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Mars Exploration Rover Scientist Curt Niebur, Director of Defense Research and Engineering John Young, and NASA Associate Administrator Rex Geveden | ||
| 2006-07 | May 19, 2007 | 691 | 1 | 850feet | 45 s | - | 301 | 19.25 | Newark Memorial High School, Newark, CA | 1.86 | Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and Astronaut Jay Apt | F-117 Nighthawk flyover.[16] | |
| 2007-08 | May 17, 2008 | 643 | 2 | 750feet | 45 s | Contest adopts new two round flyoff. Presentation competition introduced. | 341 | 22.2 | (Flight 1) 17.64 (Flight 2) 6.3 (Total) 23.94 | AIA President Marion Blakey, United States Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne | B-2 Spirit flyover.[17] | ||
| 2008-09 | May 16, 2009 | 653 | 1 | 750feet | 45 s | Egg must lay on its side. | 382 | 17.6 | (Flight 1) 11.94 (Flight 2) 8.6 (Total) 20.54 | AIA President Marion Blakey, United States Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley | Flyover by T-38s.[18] | ||
| 2009-10 | May 15, 2010 | 669 | 1 | 825feet | 45 s | Streamer recovery for egg. | 335 | 29.5 | Penn Manor High School (Team 1), Millersville, PA | (Flight 1) 3 (Flight 2) 23.32 (Total) 26.32 | United States Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley, Director of Defense Research and Engineering Zachary Lemnios, Textron CEO Scott Donnelly, Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes. | Flyover by USAF Heritage Flight: P-51 Mustang, F-16 Falcon, and F-22 Raptor. High Power Rocket with Ace of Cakes payload.[19] | |
| 2010-11 | May 15, 2011 | 607 | 1 | 750feet | 40-45 s | Portion of Rocket containing egg must return with 15in (38 cm) parachute. | 318 | 15.87 | Rockwall-Heath High School (Team 1), Heath, TX | (Flight 1) 14 (Flight 2) 2 (Total) 16 | AIA President Marion Blakey | ||
| 2011-12 | May 12, 2012 | 678 | 2 | 800feet | 43-47 s | Rockets limited to 650 grams total liftoff weight; motors limited to 80 N·s. | 409 | 13.2.[20] | Madison West High School (Team 1), Madison, WI | (Flight 1) 10 (Flight 2) 2 (Total) 12 | AIA President Marion Blakey, FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Margaret Gilligan, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Zachary J. Lemnios, Kaman Corporation Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer Neal J. Keating. | ||
| 2012-13 | May 11, 2013 | 735 | 1 | 750feet | 48-50 s | Portion of Rocket containing egg must return with 15in (38 cm) parachute. Rockets limited to 650 grams total liftoff weight; motors limited to 80 N·s. Egg must lay on its side. External diameter of rocket must be no less than 60 mm.[21] | 470 | 16.12 | Georgetown 4H, Georgetown, TX | (Flight 1) 5.36 (Flight 2) 23.88 (Total) 29.24 | AIA President Marion Blakey, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden | ||
| 2013-14 | May 10, 2014 | 707 | 2 | 825feet | 48-50 s | Rockets limited to 650 grams total liftoff weight; motors limited to 80 N·s. Rocket must descend with all pieces tethered to two parachutes of the same size. Best two of three scores summed to determine Finals qualifiers. | 413 | 54.12 | Creekview High School (Team 1), Canton, GA | (Flight 1) 6 (Flight 2) 8.88 (Total) 14.88 | AIA President Marion Blakey, Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force Dr. Mica Endsley | ||
| 2014-15 | May 9, 2015 | 685 | 1 | 800feet | 46-48 s | Rockets limited to 650 grams total liftoff weight; motors limited to 80 N·s; rocket length at least 650 mm. Payload must descend separately with a single parachute. Second flight altitude goal at finals is 775feet. Best two of three scores summed to determine Finals qualifiers. | 40 | Russellville City School, Russellville, AL | 16.16 | CEO Aurora Flight Sciences John Langford, USAF Major General Martin Whelen, NASA Orion Program Executive Garth Henning, Lockheed Martin Vice President, Space & Missile Defense Programs Eric Thoemmes, Raytheon Vice President U.S. Business Development | |||
| 2015-16 | May 14, 2016 | 2 | 850feet | 44-46 s | Rockets limited to 650 grams total liftoff weight; motors limited to 80 N·s; rocket length at least 650 mm. Rocket must descend with all pieces tethered to a single recovery device of the team's choosing. One egg to be carried perpendicular to the body's axis, the other to be parallel. Second flight altitude goal at finals is 825feet; the duration goal is 43-45 s. Best two of three scores summed to determine Finals qualifiers. | Odle Middle School, Bellevue WA | 13.64 | ||||||
| 2016-17 | May 13, 2017 | 812 | 1 | 775feet | 41-43 s | Rockets limited to 650 grams total liftoff weight; motors limited to 80 N·s; rocket length at least 650 mm. They must use body tubes of two different diameters for their exterior structure. The smaller-diameter of the two must be used for the lower (motor and fin) end of the rocket andmust not be greater than 42 millimeters One egg to be carried. First flight altitude goal at finals is 775feet; the duration goal is 41-43 s. Best two of three scores summed to determine Finals qualifiers. | 489 | 31.17 | Festus High School, Festus MO | 13.84 | Brigadier General B. Chance “Salty” Saltzman, the Director of Future Operations, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of the U.S. Air Force, Rick Hunt, VADM (Ret.) Raytheon Vice President U.S. Business Development, Dave Machuga, Director and General Manager of Digital Receiver Technology, and William Van Order, LM Fellow at Lockheed Martin Enterprise Business Services. | ||
| 2017-18 | May 12, 2018 | 2 | 800 ft (244 m) | 41-43 s | Two body sections (BT-70 upper for eggs, BT-80 lower), recovering as one piece. Finals flight targets: Flight 1 800 ft in 41-43 s, then Flight 2 (either 775 ft in 40-42 s or 825 ft, in 42-44 s) by coin toss. | Creekview High School, Canton GA | 21.2 | ||||||
| 2018-19 | May 18, 2019 | 3 | 856 ft (261 m) | 43-46 s | Egg capsule recovers separately under at least 2 same-shape parachutes (of diameters no more than 2 in difference) from booster section. Finals includes separate non-scoring contest for which rocket most closely resembles the Saturn V. Finals flight targets: Flight 1 856 ft in 43-46 s, then Flight 2 (either 831 ft in 42-45 s or 881 ft, in 44-47 s) by coin toss. | Madison West High School (Team 2), Madison WI | 10 | Apollo 11 50th Anniversary competition. 856 ft because Armstrong set foot on the Moon at 8:56pm Houston time. | |||||
| 2019-20 | May 16, 2020 | 1 | 800 ft (244 m) | 40-43 s | Finals flight targets: 775 ft in 39-42 s and 825 ft in 41-44 s. | NONE- National Final Fly-Off postponed | None | COVID-19 caused cancelation of the Finals and impacted most teams' ability to attempt qualifying flights | |||||
| 2020-21 | See Notes | 1 | 800 ft (244 m) | 40-43 s | Finals flight targets: 810 ft in 40-43 s and 860 ft in 42-45 s. | Oregon Episcopal School, Portland OR | 7.7 | VIRTUAL FINALS
| |||||
| 2021-22 | May 14, 2022 | 2 | 835 ft (254 m) | 41-44 s | Body tubes of 2 different diameters, each no less than 6" long, recovering as one piece. Eggs oriented "sideways". Finals flight targets: 810 ft in 40-43 s and 860 ft in 42-45 s. | 47.58 | Newport High School - Team 2, Bellevue WA | 13 | |||||
| 2022-23 | May 20, 2023 | 1 | 850 ft (259 m) | 42-45 s | Rocket recovers as two pieces (egg and altimeter in one, motor in the other), both under parachute. Finals flight targets: 825 ft in 41-44 s and 875 ft in 43-46 s. | 35 | Hardin Valley Academy Team 1, Knoxville TN | 13.4 | Astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg (addressed teams while aboard the International Space Station) | ||||
| 2023-24 | May 19, 2024 | 1 | 820 ft (250 m) | 43-46 s | Rocket recovers as one piece. Finals flight targets: 800 ft in and 850 ft, each in 43-46 s. | 32.12 | Tharptown High School, Russellville AL | 4 (3 + 1) | Astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg | Jolly Logic Altimeter One and Altimeter Two added to approved altimeter list; PerfectFlite APRA dropped. Finals duration range is now the same as qualification range, with different altitudes. First time Finals were delayed to Sunday due to weather. | |||
| 2024-25 | May 17, 2025 | 2 | 790 ft (241 m) | 41-44 s | Rockets recovers as 2 pieces. Eggs oriented sideways. Finals flight targets: 765 ft in and 815 ft, each in 41-44 s. |