New Rocketry Contest - $1,000 Grand Prize

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