WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says more than 350 U.S. students from middle schools to universities have been invited to take part in its rocket building competition.
NASA said the student teams will build rockets of their own design, complete with a working science payload, and launch them to an altitude of one mile.
The event consists of two divisions -- the Student Launch Initiative for middle school and high school teams and the University Student Launch Initiative for college and university students.
Not only will the student teams spend approximately eight months designing, building and field-testing their rocket, but they must also create a unique, on-board science experiment that can survive the flight and yield test results after the vehicle parachutes back to Earth.
The competitions conclude April 15-18 when NASA engineers will put the students' rockets through a professional design review similar to that undertaken for every NASA launch. NASA will then hold a two-day "launchfest," during which the students will fly their rockets.
Middle school and high school teams are eligible to participate in the challenges up to two years. Each new team receives a $3,700 grant and a travel stipend from NASA, and each returning team receives a $2,450 grant.
The University Student Launch Initiative is a competitive event sponsored by ATK Space Systems of Magna, Utah, which contributes the prizes, including a $5,000 check for the first-place winner.
