US Army Summer Engineering Internship Launch

Monday, a few members of ROCK in Orlando, FL, helped a group of high school students launch their rockets. The kids had built the rockets as part of their Summer Engineering Internship sponsored by the US Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI).

We arrived early to set up a canopy and the launch equipment. Before the kid's arrived, we watched the SpaceX launch. A few minutes after the Falcon 9 launch, we heard a long roar punctuated by bangs and pops. Based on the time between the launch and when the sound reached us 40 miles way, Dave, our club's real rocket scientist, concluded that the sound was probably from the first stage's descent to a simulated landing in the ocean rather than from the launch.

About twenty students arrived with a dozen Estes Alphas. We helped them prep the rockets with A8-3 motors then we started launching them. I flew my R/C helicopter to capture still photos and video.

[video=youtube;CqapSYYEAaE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqapSYYEAaE&list=UUEDtRkzczEYDrSaP3bw0xRg[/video]

In spite of the marshy field and extreme heat, everyone had a good time. For me, it beat sitting behind my desk at work!

Photos and Additional Info:

• https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/2014/07/july-14-2012-stem-launch.html
• https://www.orlandorocketry.com/us-army-peo-stri-high-school-summer-engineering-internship-launch/

-- Roger

Nice!

Well done sir! What kind of R/C setup are you using for the video shots?

I fly a DJI Phantom 2 Vision quadcopter upgraded with a RotorPixel 2D gimbal. I've been having a lot of fun with it at our launches.

-- Roger

The Summer Engineering Internship group's web site has been updated with additional photos and information about their rocket building and launching:

https://www.handhgraphicsorlando.com/STEM/status.html

-- Roger