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Owls Lift Off To Space
Internet of Things meets TARC Club
This year, a dozen aspiring student rocketeers at Laguna are participating in the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) Competition, which is the world’s largest student rocket contest and a key piece of the aerospace and defense industry’s strategy to build a stronger U.S. workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR), TARC was created in the fall of 2002 as a one-time celebration of the Centennial of Flight, but by popular demand became an annual program. Led by Laguna’s long time teacher Dan Ary, students successfully tested their rocketry skills at the Sabino Ranch in Los Alamos. On hand to oversee and guide their first-ever launch was Michael Swanson, an aeronautical engineer from Lockheed Martin who is stationed in the Palmdale area.
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This year, a dozen aspiring student rocketeers at Laguna are participating in the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) Competition, which is the world’s largest student rocket contest and a key piece of the aerospace and defense industry’s strategy to build a stronger U.S. workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR), TARC was created in the fall of 2002 as a one-time celebration of the Centennial of Flight, but by popular demand became an annual program. Led by Laguna’s long time teacher Dan Ary, students successfully tested their rocketry skills at the Sabino Ranch in Los Alamos. On hand to oversee and guide their first-ever launch was Michael Swanson, an aeronautical engineer from Lockheed Martin who is stationed in the Palmdale area.
The students are grappling with the challenge of matching a motor that’s big enough to lift the payload (two uncooked eggs and a sensor package), achieve the required height of 750-800 feet, and at the same time land back to earth in a 40-45 seconds window from time of launch--without cracks or other external damage to the eggs or rocket.
After multiple attempts earlier this month, the team discoverd that their motors couldn’t reach the required 750 ft.; they achieved only 630 ft. This short fall was due primarily to the weight of the payload and the wind. They will need to head back to the drawing board to try a variety of other engines and parachute sizes.
With help from the Internet of Things Club’s sensor package, built by Simon Lea '20 and programmed by Kai Nakamura '20, loaded into the rocket, students were able to measure altitude, acceleration, barometric pressure, humidity, and temperature—all of which could affect the rocket’s flight. In addition, Mr. Ary has plans to use the acceleration data in his BC and Multivariate Calculus classes to map the rocket's exact flight path. This will be done by analyzing acceleration and associated direction angles collected during flight.
“This experience has been great fun for all. It has allowed for a melding of two clubs, TARC and IoT, primarily due to the hard work of Kai Nakamura who heads up both efforts. It was his effort that progressed the development of our sensor package and its communication system,” says Dan Ary.
The team will head back to Los Alamos within the next few weeks to try again. This April, they hope to be among some 5,000 7-12 grade students nationwide who are expected to compete in the contest.
The team will head back to Los Alamos within the next few weeks to try again. This April, they hope to be among some 5,000 7-12 grade students nationwide who are expected to compete in the contest.
Good luck to TARC Members Kai Nakamura '20, Itziar de Pedro '19, Lucy Cao '20, Sherlock Jian '19, Spencer Rycroft '18, Lucas Chen '21, Summer Wang '20, Monica Stoney '21, Melissa Zhang '20, Tony Xu '19, Bowen Bai '19, Simon Lea '20, Conley Ball '21, and Athena Boyle '19.
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Laguna Blanca is Santa Barbara’s premier private, co-educational, college preparatory day school for students in Early Kindergarten through Grade 12.