LONDON, July 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Five
students from Odle Middle School in
Bellevue, Washington, took first
place in the International Rocketry Challenge at the 2016
Farnborough International Airshow on July
15. The U.S. team, sponsored by the Raytheon Company (NYSE:
RTN), bested teams from the United
Kingdom, France and
Japan. This is the second straight
year a team from the United States
claimed the international title.
"The International Rocketry Challenge brings together students
from around the world, and is a great example of our global
partnership to improve youth interest in aerospace and STEM
education," said Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO
David F. Melcher. "Congratulations
to the Space Potatoes and all of the IRC participants. Your hard
work and ingenuity proves the future of our industry is
bright."
The teams designed, built and launched rockets with a goal of
reaching an altitude of exactly 850 feet within a 44- to 46-second
flight window. This year's contest required rockets to carry two
raw eggs, placed perpendicular to each other in the rocket's body,
a task that complicated rocket design. Scores were determined by
how close the rockets approached the required height and time;
cracked eggs would disqualify the flight.
"Representing the entire country was really intimidating," said
Mikaela Ikeda, captain of the Odle
Middle School "Space Potatoes" rocketry team. "Luckily, we had each
other for support and everyone did their jobs perfectly!"
The U.S. team, all eighth graders, included Mikaela Ikeda, 12; Stephanie Han, 13; Srivatshan Sakthinarayanan,
14; Karl Deerkop, 14; and
Larry Jing 14.
The students presented their rocket design to a panel of
international judges at Raytheon's Farnborough International
Airshow headquarters. The contest, which is intended to build
communication and presentation skills, counted for 40 percent of
their total competition score. The U.S. took first place in this
portion of the challenge.
"TARC showcases the promise of young minds from around the
world," said Thomas A. Kennedy,
Raytheon Chairman and CEO. "Competing in the aerospace industry's
flagship rocketry competition teaches future engineers that subject
matter expertise, competitive discriminators and collaboration
drive successful missions."
The International Rocketry Challenge is the culmination of four
separate competitions held annually around the globe: the Team
America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) sponsored by the Aerospace
Industries Association (AIA) and the National Association of
Rocketry (NAR); the United Kingdom Aerospace Youth Rocketry
Challenge (UKAYRoC) sponsored by ADS, the UK Aerospace, Defense,
Security and Space association; the French Rocketry Challenge
sponsored by Groupement des Industries Francaises Aeronautiques et
Spatiales (GIFAS), the French aerospace industries association;
and, for the first time, the Japanese Rocketry Challenge, sponsored
by the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies and the Japan
Association of Rocketry.
Each contest brings together teams of middle and high school
students to design, build and launch model rockets with the goal of
inspiring young minds to become engaged in science, technology,
engineering and math.
For more than a decade, Raytheon has supported the winners of
the Team America Rocketry Challenge as they compete at
international air shows. The program is part of the company's
broad-based MathMovesU® initiative to encourage students to pursue
careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
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www.aia-aerospace.org
About AIA: Founded in 1919 shortly after the birth of flight,
the Aerospace Industries Association is the most authoritative and
influential trade association representing the nation's leading
manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military and business
aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aircraft systems, space
systems, aircraft engines, homeland and cybersecurity
systems, materiel and related components, equipment services and
information technology.
About Raytheon: Raytheon Company, with 2015 sales of
$23 billion and 61,000 employees, is
a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil
government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of
innovation spanning 94 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art
electronics, mission systems integration, C5ITM products and
services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in
more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. Follow us on Twitter
@Raytheon.
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SOURCE Aerospace Industries Association