DAYTON, Ohio -- A student rocketry team from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force competed in The American Rocketry Challenge National Finals held near Washington, D.C. in late May.
“We were very excited to see Team Prometheus from the museum participate in the finals after earning a position in the top 100 out of more than 798 teams,” said National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Educator, Jennifer Hess. “The team had to decide how they would approach the types of flights needed to win the National Finals. Recent practice launches from the museum grounds really helped the team finalize their rocket configurations,” she added.
In April, Team Prometheus finished first in the Ohio Cup launch where they had the best score in a field of seven teams. Team members include Springboro High School 12th grader and Team Captain Adam Bellware; Springboro High School 12th grader Danielle Price; Northmont High School 12th grader MiKayla Aaron; Homeschool 11th grader Xander Cottle; Fairborn High School 10th grader Evan Wall; and Hayes High School 9th Grader Eeshaan Pabbuleti.
The museum had two rocketry teams this year with 12 students from area schools including Fairborn, Northmont, Springboro, Centerville, Kettering, Dayton Regional STEM School, Hayes, and homeschools. Team Orion also placed in the Ohio Cup but did not qualify for Nationals.
“Both of our rocketry teams, Prometheus and Orion, worked very hard this year to make successful launches after coming together as individual teams to learn about the science of rocket flight,” said Hess.
This is the third time that a rocketry team from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has qualified for the National Finals. Their hard work and dedication allowed Team Prometheus to place 60th this year.
The museum’s rocketry programs are made possible through generous contributions from the Air Force Museum Foundation.
Students interested in participating in this and other free STEM activities at the museum can visit the website at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Education/.