Blast-Off! Groton School Rocketry Club Heads to Nationals

Groton’s Rocketry Club has blasted its way to the national competition in The American Rocketry Challenge (TARC), the world’s largest student rocket contest.

 

A team of eight students met regularly to design, build, and test rockets, aiming to launch them high enough and fast enough to qualify for TARC. The rockets not only had to shoot nearly eight hundred feet in the air, but also were required to transport a raw egg and land with it unbroken.

 

After two successful qualifying launches, the Groton team heads to nationals on June 12 in Syracuse, New York, one of eleven locations throughout the country. Groton's Rocketry Club is among one hundred teams from twenty-seven states and the U.S. Virgin Islands that were chosen from among 615 competitors.

 

According to the TARC website, “the competition challenges middle and high school students to design, build, and fly a rocket that meets rigorous altitude and flight duration parameters through a series of certified, qualifying launches.” To qualify for nationals, teams had to launch rockets to about eight hundred feet that returned to earth in forty to forty-three seconds. At the national competition, the team will be required to fly twice, once at 775 feet for thirty-nine to forty-two seconds and once at 825 feet for forty-one to forty-four seconds.

 

Groton’s Rocketry Club began in fall 2019: Chemistry teacher Dr. Sandra Kelly—inspired by rockets students had built but not launched during a Global Educational Opportunity (GEO) trip to NASA—was determined to see student rockets aloft and invited students to join the club. Sam Winkler '23 had competed in rocketry since elementary school and was planning to start a club himself. He jumped at Dr. Kelly's opportunity and became the club's leader.

 

Sam noted the challenges of New England weather and the group’s relatively late start to building the rocket, in February. “We only had about a month to test and redesign our rockets before spring break. Despite this challenge, I was constantly amazed by our productivity week to week, and our desire to not give up,” he said. “Down the stretch, the weather was also pretty horrid, with high winds and thunderstorms. Our final launch, where we got our TARC scores, was literally during the calm before the storm.” 

 

Dr. Kelly said that team members overcame significant flaws in the original design of their rocket, in the fin portion and the shock cord, which holds the motor-body and payload together. Neither part was staying attached properly, but patience and creative problem-solving paid off. 

 

So how can a rocket shoot nearly eight hundred feet in the air, carry a raw egg, and land safely without it cracking? Jack Sperling '22 was up to this challenge. “Being remote for the past year has made collaboration with others in Rocket Club difficult," he said, "but when they needed to create a reusable egg carrier for the rocket, I knew I could design something.” Summoning his experience with 3D printing, Jack used a semi-flexible filament to print a reusable device to cushion the egg inside the rocket.

“I designed the egg carrier in Autodesk Fusion 360, based off of a model egg I created,” he explained. “I made a cylinder the size of the payload section and was able to create a negative of the egg model. I printed the carrier as separate top and bottom pieces in a semi-flexible plastic. When I sent the 3D prints to Groton to be tested, they successfully cushioned the egg every time!”

  

That specially designed carrier will be put to the test once again, as Groton's enthusiastic Rocketry Club shoots for the national championship. Congratulations to Sam and Jack, as well as fellow rocketeers Elyse Cabrera ’22, Jasmine Garcia ’22, Robert Hong ’23, Robin Huntington ’22, Mei Matsui ’23, and Lidia Spada ’22—and to Dr. Kelly, who ably guided the team.