College Rocket launches in Green River

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

Last week in Green River things were heating up with the 11th Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition. College and university teams from all around the country and the world converged in and around Green River, for the event.
This event is hosted by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association of Logan. This competition is the largest university rocket competition in the world, with the highest-flying rockets and the largest scientific and technical payloads.
Over fifty teams, their rockets, and payloads are evaluated by judges from the aerospace industry who also come from all over the country. This year, as many as 55 rockets between 6 and 12 feet long will be launched up to 23,000 feet high by teams from the US, Canada, Brazil, Egypt, India, and Turkey.
Maximum points are given for teams that design and build all of their rocket components, including the engine, airframe, electronics, and parachute recovery system. Bonus points are also given if precollege students design payloads for the rockets, as a way of encouraging them to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math in their studies.
Awards were given in the Basic (10,000 feet) and Advanced (10,000-23,000 feet) categories, plus awards for Technical Excellence, Innovation, and Best Payload.
The rockets were displayed in the Green River High School gymnasium with student team members available to answer questions. Due to safety concerns with these large, experimental rockets, the public was not allowed at the launch site.) There were also be rocket firing demonstrations for the public, and elementary-age children were able to make their own paper rockets and launch the using compressed air.
Major sponsors are Orbital ATK (Chandler AZ), Aerojet Rocketdyne (Sacramento, CA), Northrop Grumman Corporation (Falls Church, VA), Space Exploration Systems (Hawthorne, CA) and the Utah NASA Space Grant Consortium. The Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory is hosting the Payload Challenge competition. Outreach activities were supported by the City of Green River.
Dr. Paul Mueller was in charge of the rocket competition.