SHIPPENSBURG, Pennsylvania USA — Three Shippensburg Area Senior High School students have qualified for the national finals of the Team America Rocketry Challenge May 19 at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va. Seniors Lucas Kalathas, Amber Keeseman and Scott Neidrick are the SkyRunners, the first rocketry team from SASHS to advance to the finals.

Their mission is to design and build a model rocket that can lift a raw egg 850 feet into the sky and land safely in 45 seconds with a perfect score of 0.

“This is the first time I've ever had a group of kids get this far,” says Sharon Gould, physics teacher at SASHS and adviser for the team. “And they've done it on their own. Although I'm the adviser for the project, they have done all of the design and fundraising themselves. My involvement was minimal. I've been very impressed.”

Soared to 848 feet

Lucas, Amber and Scott qualified for the national finals April 7 with a score of 11 when their rocket reached a height of 848 feet and landed safely in 35.15 seconds. Since then, they have made revisions and had two test launches.

“Our altitudes were 830 feet and 800 feet (on test launches), so they were not as good,” says Lucas of the SkyRunners' last two launches. “But we know what we did wrong and hopefully how to fix it.”

Lucas, the son of Nick and Diane Kalathas of Shippensburg, credits his father with sparking his interest in model rockets.

“I kind of got into rocketry over the summer (last year),” he says. “My dad found a Web site about this competition, and I talked to my friends about it.”

Initially skeptical

Initially, Amber was skeptical that they could build a rocket that could carry an egg into the air and land without breaking it.

“It seemed like it would be impossible,” she recalls. “But I thought it would be a neat learning experience - something to put on a resume. When we qualified, it was pretty awesome. It didn't even hit me right away. It seemed like something that wouldn't happen in a small town like Shippensburg.”

Lucas had little trouble convincing Scott to join the team.

“Luke and I are good friends, and I'm really into hobbies like model airplanes and rockets,” says Scott. “He started playing around with rockets and then got the idea to go bigger. He's good at conceptual ideas. I'm conceptual, too, but I'm also into practicality. I've always been interested in rocketry, but he's pushed it to a new level.”

The three friends worked after school and on weekends, and in December built their first rocket. They made 20-30 revisions and now have two rockets that are very similar.

“We made one (rocket), and if we found something that didn't work, we'd take that part off and try something different,” explains Lucas, who is the team leader and conceptual engineer.

The SkyRunners went to their first qualifying competition April 2, but their launch was too high. The students made a few adjustments and then qualified for nationals April 7.

Details matter

As the SkyRunners' construction engineer, Scott is excited about everything that he is learning. In fact, he says that one of his goals is to someday build a rocket for NASA.

“We're learning how crucial minor details really are,” says Scott, who is the son of Joanie and Doug Pfahl of Shippensburg, and Roger and Regina Neidrick of Chambersburg. “For NASA to send up a massive rocket, they have to keep the weight down.”

Scott also notes the contributions of Amber, the team's finance manager. He says that she is “great with numbers” and is responsible for coordinating fund-raising efforts.

Amber says that many area businesses have donated money to the team, but those funds are now pretty much deleted. As a result, the students have started absorbing the costs themselves.

She says that anyone who wishes to help can send donations to Shippensburg Area Senior High School, 201 Eberly Drive, Shippensburg, PA 17257. Envelopes should be marked to the attention of Sharon Gould.

All sponsors will be recognized at the national competition, she says.

The daughter of Gary and Cindy Keeseman of Shippensburg, Amber is excited about the upcoming national competition.

“We're competing against bigger schools with more experience and more technology,” she says. “But we're keeping up with them, which is an accomplishment in itself.”

Gould is proud of her students, and she applauds their friends and family for their support.

“I'm impressed with what they've done,” she says. “They have worked independently, and this is truly their work.”

The Team America Rocketry Challenge features more than $60,000 in cash, savings bonds and prizes. It is sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry, in partnership with NASA, the Department of Defense, the American Association of Physics Teachers and more than 39 AIA member companies.

For more information about the rocketry competition and a list of local sponsors, visit the SkyRunners' website at http://www.lkal.net/tarc.htm.

Copyright © 2007, The Sentinel, a division of Lee Enterprise.