Thanks to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alamaba already has a reputation for being home to rocketry. The state now has cause to celebrate that fact, as students from Tharptown High School in Russellville, AL created a rocket that won the top spot in theat Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia. The team has competed six times since 2018,, but this is the firstthe high school has taken home the victory — in 2023, however, the school placed second.
It's no easy task for the students taking part in the challenge. At the beginning of the year, to enter, each team had to present blueprints for creating and building a rocket that. To secure a spot in the finals, which allows only 100 teams to advance, each model rocket had to safely carry a hen egg to a height of 820 feet , remain in the air for between 43 to 46 seconds, and then safely return to the ground.
This was the 22nd year of the American Rocketry Challenge, bringing together teams from all across the United States both in middle and high school. There were teams from 28 states that made the National Finals and competed for $100,000 in prize money and scholarships. The money was split among the top 10 teams and winners of the Marketing Competition, Presentation Competition and Best First-Time Finalist as well.
Meredith is a regional Murrow award-winning Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and science/space correspondent. She most recently was a Freelance Meteorologist for NY 1 in New York City & the 19 First Alert Weather Team in Cleveland.