Rocket club heads to Nationals

By: Zuhayr Alam

The rocket club recently qualified for the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) in Washington, D.C. At the competition, the club designed a rocket that carried two raw eggs to an altitude of 850 feet and returned the eggs, unscathed, to the ground in a time range of 44-46 seconds in front of a certified expert. There are over 800 clubs in the country, and qualifying for the TARC means that the CFHS club is in the top 100.

The club’s main goal is to give its members an opportunity to explore a very exciting side of math and science and to fly rockets of various sizes.

In other action, the members went to a regional high power rocket event in Illinois where they built their own competition robot. The team has also visited the University of Iowa and tested their rocket in a high-tech wind tunnel.

Engineering teacher Zeb Nicholson is in charge of the rocket club at CFHS. “After qualifying, our goal is to raise money to travel to Washington, D.C., and hopefully place in the Top 10 at Nationals,” Nicholson said. “It is very rare for a team in their second year of competing to make it to the national finals since there are over 800 teams competing.”

Senior rocket club member Nic O’Loughlin has enjoyed being a part of rocket club.

“With school and homework and sports, being a part of rocket club and launching rockets really is a great way to destress,” O’Loughlin said. “We also get to 3D print some things on occasion, which is very cool.”

Nicholson has seen the club members grow throughout the course of the year.

“Some of the club members had less experience in rocketry than others,” Nicholson said. “As the year has progressed, I think that every team member can say that they have taken away many new things and experiences this year.”