Three Seattle-area teams made strong showings during the national finals of the 2024 American Rocketry Challenge, the world’s largest student rocket-launching challenge.
Out of 100 teams competing during the event on Sunday in The Plains, Va., Team Starry Night, from Interlake High School in Bellevue, Wash., finished 15th; Team RocketTree, from Sammamish, Wash., nonprofit Smiling Tree, finished 21st; and Odle Middle School Team 1, from Bellevue, finished 25th.
More than 5,000 students from 922 teams across 45 states competed in the 22nd Rocketry Challenge, which requires students to design, build and test a rocket capable of meeting rigorous mission parameters set by the contest’s sponsors — the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the National Association of Rocketry, and other industry partners.
Rockets were required to safely carry a payload of one raw egg with a target flight duration of 43-46 seconds and an altitude of 820 feet.
“It’s clear we are witnessing the ascent of the next generation of aerospace innovators,” Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Eric Fanning said in a statement.
Other Seattle-area teams competing in the finals included: Newport High School Team 1, Bellevue (39th); Interlake High School Team 2, Bellevue (47th); Odle Middle School Team 2, Bellevue (52nd); STEMZ Education, Redmond (67th); Newport High School Team 2, Bellevue (77th); Skyline High School, Issaquah (91st).
The top 25 finishers receive an invitation to participate in NASA’s Student Launch initiative to continue their exploration of rocketry with high-powered rockets and challenging mission parameters.
View the full national finals results here.
