TEMECULA, California USA — Some Inland teenagers are discovering that basic rocket science doesn't have to be overwhelming — provided you follow the directions, do your homework and persevere. Composed of local sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, the group has launched the Temecula Rocket Group.

After affiliating with the National Association of Rocketry, the club, with 15 members, is gearing up for the summer months.

Bryan Dierking, left, and Nathan Mazelin prepare to launch one of Bryan's rockets at Lucerne Valley's dry lake bed last month. Their club will launch its next rocket on Sunday.

A busy launch schedule, which resumes at 9 a.m. Sunday at Temecula Middle School, should be more manageable with the addition of an eight-rocket launch pad.

"These kids have been inspired by rocketry. They enjoy the challenges and accomplishments," said club advisor Richard Dierking, who tinkered with model rockets as a kid.

Last month, Dierking's son, Bryan, launched a rocket powered by an H-level engine. Rocket engines are classified by alphabet letters, with A being the least powerful.

"Rocketry seems to engage their creativity in the areas of technology and science," Richard Dierking said. "And it's helped them become more responsible."

With a roster of varying launching experience and rocket-science knowledge, the club has benefited through team effort, Richard Dierking said. Its summer project is to be the construction of a rocket powered by an H-level engine. Design plans call for the craft to carry a video camera and flight computer and to reach a speed of 500 mph and altitude of 1 mile.

The most basic, smallest model rockets can be built from kits sold at hobby shops for as little as $10 or $12, Dierking said, adding that shops also sell ready-to-launch models.

Bryan Dierking said he and best friend Nathan Mazelin drew inspiration from seeing "October Sky," a 1999 movie based on a true story of three West Virginia teenagers whose model-rocket endeavors earned national science-contest honors and led to careers in rocket science.

"I've seen the movie several times," Bryan, 13, said. "It presented their successes, but also the message there can be failures with rockets, so you have to persevere."

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