The Team America Rocketry Challenge National Finals 2016
Two teams from the Presidio High School Rocketry and Robotics team successfully qualified and participated in the national Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC). Teams Light-year and Blue Nova competed against each other and 98 other teams from across the country at the TARC Final Fly-Off on May 14 in Virginia.
Team Light-year is Ivye Dolino, Gaspar Piña, Jonathan Almunia and Jose Saenz. Blue Nova is Milo Garola, Azmeyda Tavarez, Beatriz Valles, Lisa Barron and Luis Peraza.
Presidio Rocketry and Robotics club students were busy making qualifying attempts throughout the spring. Most hot, dry weekday afternoons members of the Rocketry and Robotics club could be found launching their rockets in a field behind the public library.
The Presidio Rocketry and Robotics Club brought home a “best costumes” award from the national Team America Rocketry Challenge in Arlington, Virginia this past weekend. The two teams representing Presidio also placed in the top 30 out of almost 800 teams from around the country.
In colorful dresses and striped slacks, the Presidio students looked more like Flamenco dancers and matadors than young rocket scientists. But their performance in the competition, with the added challenge of adverse weather conditions, showed the country Presidio students are skilled engineers as well as being stylish.
Team Light Year, composed of Gaspar Piña, Leslie Mendoza, Raul Leon, Jose Saenz, Ivye Dolino and Jonathan Almuina, placed in 27th in the rocketry challenge out of 789 team. Team Light year’s launch reached an altitude of 853 feet and a flight duration of 50 seconds. This resulted in a score of 21.68 points.
Scores are set by calculating the height and the time that each rocket is in the air. A target flight will reach a height of 850 feet and last between 44 and 46 seconds, from launch to landing. The closer to the target flight height and duration, the better the score. Team Blue nova, composed of Liza Barron, Beatriz Valles, Luis Peraza, Milo Garcia and Azmeyda Tavarez, placed 30th. Their rocket 860 feet and a time of 49.75 seconds. Their score was 24.36.
A large thunderstorm went through Arlington area on the day of the finals, delaying the competition by two hours, according to Gaspar Piña. The storm also prevented the Presidio teams from completing a second launch. “Without a doubt, the weather did affect our chance to compete in the final round for the championship,” Piña said. The competition was ultimately won by a team from Bellevue, Washington. The Space Potatoes, as they are called, score 13.64, winning more than $20,000 in scholarships and funds for their school. Photos from the competition show, however, they were not as creatively dressed as Presidio’s students.
Team Light-year is Ivye Dolino, Gaspar Piña, Jonathan Almunia and Jose Saenz. Blue Nova is Milo Garola, Azmeyda Tavarez, Beatriz Valles, Lisa Barron and Luis Peraza.
Presidio Rocketry and Robotics club students were busy making qualifying attempts throughout the spring. Most hot, dry weekday afternoons members of the Rocketry and Robotics club could be found launching their rockets in a field behind the public library.
The Presidio Rocketry and Robotics Club brought home a “best costumes” award from the national Team America Rocketry Challenge in Arlington, Virginia this past weekend. The two teams representing Presidio also placed in the top 30 out of almost 800 teams from around the country.
In colorful dresses and striped slacks, the Presidio students looked more like Flamenco dancers and matadors than young rocket scientists. But their performance in the competition, with the added challenge of adverse weather conditions, showed the country Presidio students are skilled engineers as well as being stylish.
Team Light Year, composed of Gaspar Piña, Leslie Mendoza, Raul Leon, Jose Saenz, Ivye Dolino and Jonathan Almuina, placed in 27th in the rocketry challenge out of 789 team. Team Light year’s launch reached an altitude of 853 feet and a flight duration of 50 seconds. This resulted in a score of 21.68 points.
Scores are set by calculating the height and the time that each rocket is in the air. A target flight will reach a height of 850 feet and last between 44 and 46 seconds, from launch to landing. The closer to the target flight height and duration, the better the score. Team Blue nova, composed of Liza Barron, Beatriz Valles, Luis Peraza, Milo Garcia and Azmeyda Tavarez, placed 30th. Their rocket 860 feet and a time of 49.75 seconds. Their score was 24.36.
A large thunderstorm went through Arlington area on the day of the finals, delaying the competition by two hours, according to Gaspar Piña. The storm also prevented the Presidio teams from completing a second launch. “Without a doubt, the weather did affect our chance to compete in the final round for the championship,” Piña said. The competition was ultimately won by a team from Bellevue, Washington. The Space Potatoes, as they are called, score 13.64, winning more than $20,000 in scholarships and funds for their school. Photos from the competition show, however, they were not as creatively dressed as Presidio’s students.
We Are Rocket Scientists!
The only competition our rocketry program participates in is the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC). The Team America Rocketry Challenge is now in its thirteenth year of inspiring and attracting the next generation of engineers and technicians to join to aerospace industry. The Aerospace Industries Association's signature program and the only aerospace-specific national STEM competition, TARC has reached over 60,000 students and involved 4,000 students in the 48 states during the 2015 season alone.
An extra-curricular hands-on project-based learning program, the TARC competition is modeled around the aerospace industry's design, fabrication and testing process. All students participate in a team of 3-10 students to design, build, and fly a rocket. Like aerospace companies work within specific design parameters, every year the challenge requires teams to achieve the same basic mission-oriented goals of hitting a precise altitude, landing within a specific flight time window, and returning a raw egg ("the astronaut") without cracking.
This season, one of our teams has qualified to participate in the TARC National Finals Fly Day on May 9, 2015 in The Plains, Virginia.
An extra-curricular hands-on project-based learning program, the TARC competition is modeled around the aerospace industry's design, fabrication and testing process. All students participate in a team of 3-10 students to design, build, and fly a rocket. Like aerospace companies work within specific design parameters, every year the challenge requires teams to achieve the same basic mission-oriented goals of hitting a precise altitude, landing within a specific flight time window, and returning a raw egg ("the astronaut") without cracking.
This season, one of our teams has qualified to participate in the TARC National Finals Fly Day on May 9, 2015 in The Plains, Virginia.
Our Achievements
- Qualified to National Finals in The Plains, VA for 7 consecutive years.
- Achieved 4th, 6th, & 10th places from over 700 teams at the National Finals.
2015-2016 Official TARC Video, Handbook & Rules
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