2014 TARC Results

Congratulations to the many TARC teams that competed in this years contest. The team from Creekview High School in Canton GA won the 12th annual competition this past weekend.

 

place	Score	Team Number	Team Name	City	State
First Place – $10,500	14.88	14344	Creekview High School (Team 1)	Canton	GA
Second Place – $9,500	18.1	14524	Rotary Youth Leadership Association	Northville	NY
Third Place – $9,000	26.24	14280	Northview High School (Team 2)	Sylvania	OH
Fourth Place – $3,000	26.72	14436	Presidio High School (Team 4)	Presidio	TX
Fifth Place – $3,000	29.56	14212	Explorer Post 1010	Rockville	MD
Sixth Place – $3,000	32.2	14605	Madison West High School (Team 4)	Madison	WI
Seventh Place – $3,000	32.24	14287	Krueger School of Applied Technologies (Team 4)	San Antonio	TX
Eighth Place – $3,000	34.44	14584	Penn Manor High School	Millersville	PA
Ninth Place – $3,000	41	14286	Krueger School of Applied Technologies (Team 3)	San Antonio	TX
Tenth Place Team – $3,000	49.2	14336	Amory High School	Amory	MS

 

OpenRocket 13.11 released

There is a new OpenRocket release over at openrocket.sourceforge.net

Here are the changes:

1)  Flight configurations have been streamlined.  Instead of using a
dialog, it is now a tab on the the main frame.
2) Motor filtering has been enhanced
3) Sorting in the Simulation table is now supported.
4) Chinese translations have been added.
5) 3d libraries have been updated and reportedly helps on some platforms
6) Fix to critical bug introduced by Java 1.7.0_45-b18 which effected
drag & drop in the rocket component tree.

 

OpenRocket 13.09 released

From Sampo Niskanen:

“Hi,

OpenRocket version 13.09 has been released.  Most of the work in this release has been behind-the-scenes.  Visible updates include numerous bug fixes, updated 3D JOGL libraries, and separated simulation edit and plot dialogs.

You can download the latest version from http://openrocket.sourceforge.net/

A big thanks to the team for their work!

Cheers,

   Sampo N.”

 

New Semroc Kits for NARAM-55

 

From Semroc:

“We have just released five new kits just before NARAM-55. The two “War in Space” kits from Centuri are done. The Satellite Killer™ and the Red-Eye™ were the only known entries, but we have some more wraps to extend the series. More later in this memo. TheEgg Crate™ from Centuri is complete. It now has two interchangeable mounts included. Fly with a singel 24mm, long or short, or dual 18mm engines. Two new Groonies are released. The Yung’un’s Nuke™ and the Snake Jumper™ have been in the works and are finally finished.” -Semroc Press Release

The Snake Jumper is a kit version of the Evel Knevel’s Sky Cycle in which you can download and build the cardstock version for free from here. Just go to my Ultimate Paper Rocket Guide.

 

Teams successful Carmack Prize attempt

on board camera from flight

UPDATE 2: Prize is confirmed. Photo from “Winning the Carmack Prize”. Team site here.

UPDATE: Even though all requirements are met according to the rules the final word will have to come from John Carmack

Team of rocketeers have now had a successful Carmack Prize attempt.

Team: Ken Biba, Casey Barker, Erik Ebert, Becky Green, Jim Green, David Raimondi, Tom Rouse and Steve Wigfield

Altitude:104,659 feet

Avionics: (Raven+RDAS, Beeline GPS (70cm APRS), GoPro2 + WiFi BacPac)in booster and sustainer

Payload:Smartphone+sensors (APRS telemetry)

Motors: AeroTech N1000W staged to a AeroTech M685W

Launched from: Black Rock, NV

Date: September 11, 2012

Recovery: within 6 hours of launch

THE VIDEO

Carmack Prize

The Rules:

1. The prize is $5000 USD, and has been augmented with a further $5000-$5500 by the people listed at the end of this page. The collection of the prize from each benefactor is up to the prize winner.
2. The launch attempt must be registered by a post to aRocket at least 30 days prior to the attempt, with the following information:
   • A reasonable description of the vehicle
   • The launch location
   • The launch date
3. The rocket must gain 100,000 feet from launch altitude using rocket propulsion.
4. The rocket must record a GPS serial log of the flight with at least one report above 100,000ft plus the launch altitude.
5. The rocket must be recovered essentially intact, the recovery system having functioned.
6. The rocket must be recovered within 24 hours of launch.
7. A report on the vehicle and operations must be made available on the web for posterity, with a level of quality suitable for publishing in a magazine. The report’s author retains copyright.
8. Good video of at least the launch must be shared. Ideally video is captured of the entire flight to recovery, but this is not required.
9. If multiple stages are used, they must all be recovered successfully.
10. Armadillo Aerospace is disqualified from the competition.
11. The competition is judged by John Carmack.

 

Interns to launch Colorado’s largest model rocket

ULA Intern Rockets (click for PDF) image src: ULA

 

UPDATE JULY 28th –

 

——————————————————————–

The 2012 Intern Rocket Launch at United Launch Alliance and Ball Aerospace is scheduled for July 28th in Pueblo,CO.
Interns will launch a series of large rockets including one called the Future Rocket at 300 lbs and 25 feet in length it is purported to be the largest model rocket launched in Colorado. The Interns use the rocket projects to go around to schools and teach aerospace and rocketry to students. Many of the payloads are designed by high school students.

Future Rocket Stats

Rocket Name: Future
Rocket Built By: ULA Interns in 5 states (AL, CA, CO, FL, TX)
Overall Height: 25 feet
Liftoff Weight: 300 lbs
Stages: 2
1st Stage Engines: N2000W (2)
2nd Stage Engine: N2000W (1)
Total Impulse: 9000 lb-sec
Oxidizer: Ammonium Perchlorate
Fuel: Hydroxyl-Terminated Prolybutadiene (HTPB)
Flight Computers: 2
Video Cameras: 3 (additional cameras on payloads)
Electronic Timers: 25
Max Altitude: 10,000 feet
Max Velocity: 400 mph
Max Acceleration: 5.5 G’s
Airframe Structure: Carbon Fiber

Close-up spectator viewing of the rockets will be from 9-10 a.m.Launches will start at approximately 10:30 a.m. and finish close to noon.
Spectators are invited to attend but must RSVP here(StudentRocketLaunch@ulalaunch.com) to receive detailed information about the launch.  After RSVPing, we will send an email reply with schedule, map/directions and further even information.
20 payloads built by college interns and high school students will beboosted into the sky by these rockets. High school teams may apply to have their payload(s) launched.
Payload information

 

Students from Madison Wis. win 2012 TARC

Press Release AIA:

“Students from Madison West High School in Madison, Wis. placed first at the 10th annual Team America Rocketry Challenge finals Saturday, besting 99 teams from across the country to earn the title of national champion in a contest that puts kids on track for careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).”

Read entire release here

TOP 20

See Full list here

This year there has been more coverage in mainstream media than I have seen in the past. This morning I saw CBS Sunday Morning cover the 11th place Team from Presido TX.

Story on CBS Sunday Morning 

Even Huffington Post covered TARC this year