Rocketry Planet

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia USA -- For the past several years, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR), in partnership with NASA, the Department of Defense and member companies of the AIA, have sponsored the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

It is the world's largest model rocket contest and is open to students in grades 7-12. Each team includes at least three young people and represents a single school or non-profit youth organization. The rockets must be designed, built and flown by the team members.

Each year the goals for the rocket launch change. For 2007 the rocket must travel 850 feet in the air, stay up for 45 seconds and carry a payload of a raw egg, which must land unharmed.

Only 750 applications are accepted to compete in the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

And for the 2007 contest, at the top of that list is Boy Scout Troop 566 from Warner Robins. The local Scouts were the first team in the nation to register for next year's contest, making them officially number one.

It is a position the members of the team plan on keeping.

"We are number one now and we are going to finish number one," said Jacob Johnson, an 8th grader at Feagin Mill Middle School and a Life Scout with the troop.

It is the second year the troop has participated in the Team America Rocketry Challenge event. Last year, Troop 566 finished 55th in the nation in the finals.

Three of the members from last year's team have returned for the next contest: Michael Graul, Jacob Johnson and Ronnie Kent. The team added two new members, Trevor Hare and Adam Hartman.

While the final competition isn't until May, Troop 566's team has been meeting for the last two months, starting earlier than they did last year to meet their goal of finishing first.

So far, with their rocket still in the planning stage, the boys have done a lot of studying on the subject of rocketry and flight and have performed test flights of other rockets to take readings. They have formed committees and assigned Jacob as program manager, Ronnie as assistant program manager and Michael as range officer.

Assistant scoutmaster Phillip Graul serves as an adviser to the team.

Finishing first brings with it not just an honor or a trophy: There is serious money involved. Last year, the first place team took a share of the $60,000 prize money and received a trip to the Farnborough International Airshow near London in July.

After a qualifying flight this spring, the top 100 from the initial 750 competing teams will travel to Virginia in May for the national fly-off.

"I think being the first team to register shows our commitment to the contest and to rocketry," said Michael, a 9th grader at Houston County High who is in the process of completing his Eagle Scout rank. "We work really hard on our rocket and this year we are working even harder. This year we are going to win."