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MGHS Named NASA Student Launch Initiative Team
The Academic Affairs Office at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) announced last week that Mulberry Grove High School has been accepted as a 2009 Student Launch Initiative (SLI) Team.
Only 11 schools or informal organizations in the nation have been accepted into the 2009 program. Three schools have two teams. The 2008-2009 SLI teams are:
--Boy Scout Troop 143, Giddings, Texas
--Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
--Denmark High School, Denmark, Wis.
--Frenship High School, Wolfforth, Texas
--Harvard-Westlake School, North Hollywood, Calif.
--Krueger Middle School, San Antonio, Texas
--Madison West High School Team 1, Madison, Wis.
--Madison West High School Team 2, Madison, Wis.
--Mulberry Grove High School, Mulberry Grove, Ill.
--Plantation High School Team 1, Plantation, Fla.
--Plantation High School Team X, Plantation, Fla.
--W.G. Enloe High School Green Team, Raleigh, N.C.
--W.G. Enloe High School Gold Team, Raleigh, N.C.
--Washington County 4-H, Slinger, Wis.
Teams can qualify to participate in the Student Launch Initiative by placing in the top 3 Level two teams at the Rockets for Schools competition held in Wisconsin or by placing in the top 18 teams at the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) held in Virginia. In May, the Mulberry Grove Rocket Team placed second at the TARC competition.
The four members of the Mulberry Grove High School SLI team are all Seniors.
Tyler Koontz is project manager, payload specialist for the scientific experiment package, and outreach coordinator that will promote rocketry education to elementary students. Tyler was a member of the 2008 TARC team and is a member of the 2009 TARC team.
Ryan Paine is assistant project manager, vehicle specialist in charge of design, construction, and propulsion of the rocket, and web specialist in charge of maintaining a web presences for the entire project. Ryan was a member of the 2006, 2007, and 2008 TARC teams and attended all three finals in Virginia. He was the project manager for the 2008 team, rocket designer for the 2007 and 2008 team, and will be project manager and rocket designer for the 2009 TARC team.
Mitchell Lewis is the safety manager and will assist with rocket construction.
Justin Rensing is the recovery specialist and will assist with rocket construction. Justin is a member of the 2009 TARC team.
This is the first experience for Lewis and Rensing in rocketry.
SLI teams are required to have an administrative adult in charge of the program and at least two teacher-mentors. Because of the size of the rocket and the motor needed to launch it, each team is required to have a National Association of Rocketry (NAR) or Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) member that is certified Level 2 in high powered rockets.
John Paine is a math and physics teacher at Mulberry Grove High School and is the administrative leader of the team. He has been the sponsor for the TARC teams the past three years. He is certified Level 2 in high powered rockets.
Denyse Blankenship is the Mulberry Grove High School science teacher and will mentor the students with their scientific payload.
Larry Terneus is the Technology Education teacher at Hillsboro High School. He is certified Level 2 and will mentor students in vehicle design and construction.
The NASA SLI is designed to engage students at the middle and high school level in a learning opportunity that involves design, construction, test, and launch of a reusable launch vehicle and science-related payload. The vehicle will be designed to reach an altitude of one mile above ground level, or AGL. The initiative is intended to encourage students to pursue careers in engineering or science-related fields. Teaming with engineers from government, business, and academia, students get a hands-on, inside look at the science and engineering professions. The selected teams will launch their rockets in April of 2009 in Huntsville, Alabama.
SLI requires an eight (8) month commitment to successfully complete the project. The initiative is more than designing and building a rocket from a commercial kit. It involves diverse aspects such as: scheduling, purchasing, performing calculations, financing the project, coordinating logistics, arranging press coverage, and documenting impact made on education through reports and design reviews. Teams are encouraged to involve a diverse group of departments such as mathematics, science, technology, English, journalism, and art.
To be part of the SLI program, the Mulberry Grove team had to be in the top 18 teams at the TARC competition in Virginia and had to have their sponsor attend an Advanced Rocketry Workshop at MSFC during July. Meeting these requirements, the team received a “request for proposal” from the Marshall Center in August. A 55-page proposal was written and sent to MSFC by the October 1st deadline. The team waited for five weeks to see if their proposal would be accepted.
The team must now prepare a Preliminary Design Review Report that is due on December 5 that will describe in detail the vehicle design and scientific payload. In January, a Critical Design Review Report is due with an associated video-conference with engineers at MSFC. In March, a Flight Readiness Review Report will be due with another video-conference with engineers. This review will be the final review before the launch on April 19 in Huntsville.
The team must also conduct an educational outreach program to educated younger students in the field of math, science, and rocketry.
The final Post-Launch Assessment Review report will be submitted by May 22, 2009 and the project will come to an end.
Teams may participate in the SLI for up to two years. There may be more than one team per school. New teams will receive a grant of $3,700 to cover the cost of the scale model rocket, the main rocket and payload, and part of the travel expense to Huntsville. Second-year teams receive $2,450.
The team will seek partnerships with colleges and businesses to help with the project. Any adult with expertise in science, math and/or engineering that would like to volunteer to be a mentor to the students on this project may contact John Paine at jpaine@mgschools.com.
You can follow the team's progress at http://mgschools.com/sli
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