The UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKRoC)[1] is a youth rocket building competition, established in 2007. It provides secondary school student teams (of 3 to 5 members aged 11 to 18), a realistic experience in designing a flying aerospace vehicle that meets a specified set of mission and performance requirements. Students have to work together in teams, emulating the practices of real aerospace engineers. Not intended to be easy, and considered well within the capabilities of secondary school students with a good background in science and maths, and some craftsmanship skills.
Run by ADS, its key goal is to "Encourage school children to enter the world of aerospace and science".
The winner goes forward to represent the UK competing in the International Rocketry Challenge against the winners of the American, French and Japanese competitions.
The challenge
For each competition[2] UKRoC teams have had to design, construct and successfully launch a rocket to carry one or more raw medium size hen's egg as close to a specified altitude, for a specific flight time, then return the egg and altimeter payload section safely, and undamaged to earth using a specified means of deceleration.
Many teams choose to design their rockets on simulation programs, such as Spacecad and RockSim, which not only enable them to design, but also calculate how well a rocket will perform in different weather conditions.[3]
The 2012 finalists were: Royal Liberty School, Longstone Special School, Samuel Lister Academy, Whitley Bay High School, Abbeyfield School, Airedale Academy, The Perse School, Our Lady's Grammar School, 1429 Squadron Aberporth ATC, Victoria College Belfast, The Thomas Hardye School, Worksop College, Lostock Hall Academy and Royal Wootton Bassett Academy.[10]
The 2013 finals were held on 8 May, at Queen’s Parade, Farnborough.
The finalists were: North Halifax Grammar School, 1114 (Gosforth) ATC Squadron, Worksop College, Abbeyfield School, 10th Chippenham Air Scouts, Perse School, Victoria College Belfast, Ashville College, Airedale Academy, Egglescliffe School, Lostock Hall Academy, The Royal Liberty School, Whitley Bay High School, Longstone School and Boston Spa School.[11]
Dinnington is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is near to the towns of Worksop and Rotherham and cities of Sheffield and Doncaster.
The National Association of Rocketry (NAR) is a non-profit tax-exempt scientific organization dedicated to consumer safety, youth education, and the advancement of technology in the hobby of sport rocketry in the United States. Founded in 1957, the NAR is the oldest and largest spacemodeling organization in the world with over 8,000 members and 200 affiliated clubs across the U.S. It was established in 1957 by Orville Carlisle and G. Harry Stine. It supports all aspects of safe consumer sport rocket flying, from small model rockets with youth groups to very large high power rockets flown by adult hobbyists.
The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and the Republic of Ireland. There are also 50 Foreign Members (mostly from the Commonwealth) and 13 Associate Members who are head teachers of state schools or other influential individuals in the world of education, who endorse and support the work of HMC.
The Perse School is a public school in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1615 by Stephen Perse, its motto is Qui facit per alium facit per se, taken to mean 'He who does things for others does them for himself'. The School began accepting girls at 11 and 13+ in September 2010 and was fully co-educational by September 2012. 'Perse' is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an association of the leading UK independent schools.
The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is an American trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, space systems, aircraft engines, missiles, material, and related components, equipment, services, and information technology in the United States. It also co-sponsors, with the National Association of Rocketry, the America Rocketry Challenge (TARC), an annual competition for high school students. Member companies also give awards and scholarships to top placing teams at the TARC national finals each year, and it is funded through sponsoring companies. AIA also develops the manufacturing standards called National Aerospace Standards, which are available to aerospace manufacturers that conform to United States Military Standard's for equipment manufacturing and provide standards for other various components.
Schools' Challenge is the national general knowledge competition for schools in the United Kingdom, founded by Colin Galloway in 1978. It uses the same quiz bowl rules as University Challenge, although it is affiliated with neither the game nor the television show. Schools Challenge is divided into Senior and Junior competitions.
The Thomas Hardye School is a secondary academy school in Dorchester, Dorset, England. It is also part of the DASP group.
The American Rocketry Challenge is an annual American model rocketry competition for students in grades six to 12 sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry. Co-sponsors include NASA, United States Department of Defense, the American Association of Physics Teachers and the Civil Air Patrol. Previously known as the "Team America Rocketry Challenge," the name was changed following the 2019 event.
Abbeyfield School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England.
Aviation High School, formerly Hendra Secondary College, is a high school in Widdop Street, Hendra, Queensland, Australia. The Principal is David Munn.
Horsforth School is a science specialist secondary school with academy status in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
The United Kingdom Rocketry Association (UKRA) is an enabling body set up to promote and represent high power, medium power and model rocketry in the United Kingdom for educational, recreational and amateur research purposes. UKRA is also the specialist body to the BMFA with responsibilities for High Power Rocketry, and is the United Kingdom body recognized by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Retford Oaks Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the market town of Retford, Nottinghamshire, England, situated in the district of Bassetlaw.
Moscow State Aviation Technological University is a university in Moscow, Russia. The modern name of this university is «MATI» – Russian State University of Aviation Technology. It is named after the Russian aeronautics and rocketry pioneer Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovskii.
The Delaware AeroSpace Education Foundation (DASEF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting aerospace education in the State of Delaware. DASEF educates students of all ages in the areas of math, science, technology, and aerospace through the use of academies, presentations, symposia, professional development, and the Innovation Technology Exploration Center (ITEC).
Kingsbury Green Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in Calne, Wiltshire, England for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school has origins in a legacy of John Bentley in the 17th century; its present site to the south of the town was the home of Bentley Grammar School (1957–1974) and The John Bentley School (1974–2019). The school's name was changed to Kingsbury Green Academy in 2019 after it joined Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Trust.
Frank H. Winter is an American historian and writer. He is the retired Curator of Rocketry of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, D.C. Winter is also an internationally recognized historian of rocketry and spaceflight and the author of several landmark books besides numerous articles and papers on these topics.
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