A team of University of South Florida students will present their rocket to NASA scientists at a big contest in Huntsville, Alabama next week.
The contest called the NASA University Student Launch Initiative, and the team is named SOAR.
The rocket is named Bullistic, of course, with a tip of the hat to USF’s mascot.
Each student has spent about eight months preparing and building the rocket. And it all comes down to a four second launch next week.
The students have to make their rocket go exactly a mile into the air, no higher or lower.
“This is bigger to us than the Superbowl,” said student Logan Sveum.
Sveum says the students are ecstatic about getting to show off their hard work to NASA.
“That’s who I want to work for,” Sveum said. “I want to build these awesome rockets, become a mechanical engineer, and help NASA get to Mars.”
With that excitement also comes nerves.
“There’s tons of things that could go catastrophically wrong,” said student Matthew Oldfield.
If the team is just a measurement off, the rocket could be destroyed, or not take off at all. It’s a process each student knows all too well.
The team members are from Florida. Many recall seeing shuttle launches when they were younger, and more recently, rocket launches from the Space Coast.
In the end though, this one might be their favorite one of all.
“When it’s your own creation, your own work going up into that beautiful sky, it’s magnificent,” said student Andrew Huff.
The team has had help from mentor Rick Waters, who has flown rockets for decades.
They hope all their hard work pays off in Alabama next week. For now, they’re ready for liftoff.
The team has not fully funded their trip to Alabama. If you’d like to help, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/USFSOARNSL2016.
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