The Center Yellowjacket Rocketry Team is going to Nationals!!! You didn't know that Center High School has a Rocketry Team? You are not alone. Let me tell you the story of a small group of students who, with their advisor, have earned the right to compete in a national level event in Washington DC! The story of Yellowjacket Rocketry is actually several stories that merge into a beautiful narrative.
It is a story of achievement. There are around 1,000 school rocketry teams registered with the American Rocketry Challenge. Only the top 100 teams are invited to the national competition, that takes place May 18-20 just outside of Washington DC. In order to qualify for nationals, the Yellowjacket team designed, tested, built, tested, rebuilt, retested, and finally had a rocket ready for qualification. The qualification is based on how high the rocket flies and how long it stays in the air. The targets are at least 845 feet of altitude and 45 seconds duration. Oh, and there is one more test - a raw egg is the payload for the rocket and must survive the flight and landing without a crack! On March 29th, the team gathered at Center High School for their test flight, observed by J. Blake Goddard (yes, he is related to Robert Goddard, an early pioneer in rocketry). The best flight went 864 feet high and lasted over 49 seconds (and the egg was not cracked). The team is headed to nationals!
Yellowjacket Rocketry is also a story of resilience. The process of design and testing is one of two steps forward and one step back. The design is tested first with modeling software to find the right combination of motor, shape, materials, aerodynamics, and weight. Then it is taken to the field to see how it works in the real world with wind, terrain, and temperatures. Over the course of testing, six different rockets were all or partially destroyed. Several landed in trees, requiring difficult retrievals. Through it all, the team fought through frustration and setbacks, all in the name of learning how to improve. Much of the work was done after school and on weekends. The qualification flight itself took place during Spring Break! The phrase "We are Center Yellowjackets and, together, we can do Hard Things" certainly fits the sport of rocketry.
Yellowjacket Rocketry is also a story of diversity. The team traveling to Washington DC consists of a Black male, Hispanic Male, and White Female. At Center, rocketry is a sport for all students!
Best of luck to our young rocket scientists (in this case, yes, it IS rocket science) as they travel to DC. Thanks to our friends at ALPLA, soon to be located at Bannister & Troost, for their support of STEM education at Center and sponsors of the trip to the national American Rocketry Challenge!