Rocket Project Success

Many of you know this already, but the rocket project has been carried out EXTREMELY WELL by our team. Their official competition launch was successful and came within 86 feet of the target altitude of 2000 feet. One test launch (over at the launch site in Madison County run by the NFCC Sentinel Rocket Club) had reached 2900 feet, so the rocket was capable of much more than the competition demanded.

This was the only non-hybrid rocket, so it was guaranteed to win its class. However, I was particularly pleased to read the following in the e-mail from the director of the competition:

... we had 6 teams competing in the hybrid competition and your team was the most consistent with your reports and you were closer to 2000 ft.

I believe that means our team would have won an "open" competition against the teams launching hybrid rockets! As I said above: you did an EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE job.

By the way, team members, don't think that detail about "most consistent with your reports" is a minor compliment. Teams have won major national competitions (like the concrete canoe race in civil engineering or some of the robot competitions in mechanical or electrical engineering) because their documentation and project presentation took top marks over a team that was slightly better in what they thought was the main competition. Being tops in both metrics (consistent reporting and hitting the target altitude) is a real triumph.