Utah State University hosted their ninth annual Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Comptetion. The event started in 2006 with two teams and has grown to an international event. This year 34 teams participated from all over the world. The Experimental Sounding Rocket Association puts on the event every year near Green River. The rockets are launched from what was once the Green River Test Site. White Sands Missile Base in New Mexico used the site in the 1960s and 70s to test the Athena and other rockets. The teams particpate in different categories; the basic category (10 pound payload, 10,000 feet) and the advanced category (10 pound payload, 25,000 feet).
Throughout the week the students had a chance to meet with the community. They hosted a movie night at the park, a meet the rocketeer night, built paper rockets with children and had the rockets on display at the museum.
The winners of the basic category are first place, Oregon State University, second place, ETS Montreal. The winners of the advanced category are first place: Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, second place: ETS Montreal. Jim Furfaro Award for Technical Excellence, University of Washington. R. Gilbert Moore Award for Innovation, University of Toronto. Payload Award, Oregon State University.
Sponsors provided the teams with cash prizes, they included: Advanced Category First Place ($1,000): Sinclair Interplanetary. Advanced Category Second Place ($500): Planetary Systems Corporation. Basic Category First Place ($1,000): Northrop Grumman Corporation. Basic Category Second Place ($500): Space Exploration Technologies, Inc. (SpaceX).
Green River City welcomes the rockets each year to the city and enjoys the event and the boost it gives to Green River and the learning opportunities for its young people.
Meet the rocketeers night in Green River
"Matthew Dewey, Carlos Delgado and Kyle Yu from Cal State Los Angeles."