Student Rocketry Program Takes Off

SCHOOL NEWS>> Rockets Used to Return Eggs Safely to Earth

By ERIC HAINZER

WOODBRIGDE, Va. — Some extraordinary talent has been discovered in our own backyard.

Students at Christ Chapel Academy (CCA) in Woodbridge have been admitted into the coveted ranks of Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC).

“First, TARC rockets are not the Estes toy rockets that we buy in stores” said Koula Hainzer, a science teacher at CCA. “Our rockets are custom made by our best high school science students and under the watchful eye of a certified TARC monitor! Very challenging design, computer simulations, electronics, it’s all very complex” she added.

Joining the TARC community is an honor, and students who make selection for the rocket club will use computers and special software programs to help design and simulate rockets in flight. The use of special tools and scales are all under the watchful eye of “Rocket Jones,” the TARC school monitor for CCA.

TARC began in 2003 as a single event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of flight. But after the initial event, ‘rocket fever’ became infectious and is now one of the most highly visible events in rocketry.

Rocket teams today will participate in eight bracketed events with over 3,000 high school students as far away as Hawaii and Alaska. The top 100 teams will advance as finalists earning them a spot in the final Fly-off each May at Great Meadows in The Plains, Virginia.

Presidential appointees, politicians, senior government officials, and prime defense contractors continue to make this a very visible annual event.

And winning is sweet – $60,000 in prizes plus a free trip to the Paris or Farnborough Air Show in Europe for all of the high school team members. Ranking is based on an accumulation of points tallied from all the qualification flights conducted throughout the year.

Olympic scoring has nothing on TARC. Earning points is hard and is based on how close a team comes to meeting specific requirements. This year’s challenge is to keep their rocket flight time between 48-50 seconds, return one raw egg – unbroken – back to earth using a hand-built rocket with more design specs only an engineer can dream of.

And that’s the point.

TARP’s main goal is to incorporate a wide collection courses taught in algebra, physics, and computers to construct something in a fun, friendly, and collaborative environment. CCA hopes that this effort will encourage their young adults to consider engineering and science as a possible career choice.

Christ Chapel Academy is only one of three schools in Virginia that satisfies all TARC certification requirements.

“We enjoy driving on Saturdays to Great Meadows to test fly our rockets. We stop for lunch on the way back. It’s fun,” said Hanizer.

Editor’s note: Writer Eric Hainzer is the husband of teacher Koula Hainzer who is quoted in this article.