5/19/2008 TARC 2008 we came in 26th with a score of 25.00. The altimeter beeped out 733ft for the height and the judges must have averaged the time to be 49seconds. They had a great time!
So who will be on which of the 3 Covenant teams next year?
5/14/2008 Yesterday we found out that we are going to nationals tomorrow. So they rebuilt the rocket on Tuesday (the last launch during trials ended with the rocket blowing up on the launch pad - CATO) and we launched it today. The time was something close to 45 seconds (I didn't start timing until it was on its way down... I got 28 seconds.) Apogee occurred at 763ft. That is their best launch yet. Pray for similar results at the finals.
5/01/2008 Well, we weren't notified. On Tuesday I calculated that 99 submitted their confirmation to attend form. It looks like today, all 100 have confirmed. We'll have another go at it next year.
4/11/2008 We have one team that is the 2nd alternate. If two out of the top 100 teams cannot make it to the finals, then we will go. ALTERNATES will be notified no later than Tuesday, April 29, 2008, if a position in the finals opens up for your team. http://www.aia-aerospace.org/tarc/finalists.cfm?contest_year=2008&CFID=6685474&CFTOKEN=12340182
4/8/2008 The red team used a G motor and submitted a qualification score of 53.40. The White and Blue team used F.
White had a score of 25.58.
Blue scored 22.24.
Red 784 feet, 35.30 seconds
White 738 ft, 38.21 s
Blue 760 ft, 38.88 s
We'll know Friday afternoon if these scores are in the top 100. There were 643 teams and 333 submitted qualification scores.
4/13/2007 The score of 18.22 was good enough to be in the top 100 qualifiers. Good job to all three Covenant teams who had qualification scores. For the 3rd time in the past five years Covenant has a team that has qualified for the national finals of Team America Rocketry Challenge. Congratulations Sarah, David, Emily, Katherine and Casi. Finals are Saturday, May 19, 2007.
1/12/2007 Report from Wednesday launches: 1st launch, 3p.m. NASA scale model, unknown height (possibly 800), total time in air 2:21min.
2nd launch, TARC team Alpha, 54s, 565ft
3rd, TARC- White team, 1min 12s, 719ft
Eggs for both TARC teams survived.
4th, NASA scale model with G54 reloadable engine, 1228ft, 2min 12s.
Successful test launches!!!
1/10/2007 Launching 2 TARC team rockets and the NASA SLI scale model with a UV test today just north of Eagle Creek. Launches begin at 2p.m. Be there by 4 and you'll get to see a launch.
10/19/2006 The proposal was accepted. Covenant is now a NASA contractor. We were on the front page of today's Indianapolis Star (Hendrick's A.M. section)
The article can be found (for a limited time at indystar.com
We now have 3 TARC teams registered 5083, 5084, 5085. I like to refer to them has the Red, White, and Blue teams.
10/3/2006 The NASA SLI proposal was submitted yesterday. See it at
Proposal.pdf Also check out the student designed CCHS NASA SLI rocket website.
8/25/06 NASA SLI proposal planning meeting:
7/27/06 Mr. Bird just got back from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
During my time there I learned more about rockets, toured Marshall, work with NASA Propulsion engineers to create a hands-on lesson plan for the classroom, toured the US Space and Rocket Center, learned how to propose to participate as a 2007 SLI team, and many other great things. NOTE: Because of the complexity of the SLI proposal process if I had not attended we would not be eligible to propose for the 2006-2007 NASA SLI program.
Now let's get our team and proposal together in this next month.
6/02/06 Travis & Sarah were interviewed last night for an article in the Crawfordsville paper.
5/29 Great time was had at CiCi's with the Seegels. The memory binder of photos is incredible.
Student Launch Initiative Information [Click for info] Lord willing, Mr. Bird will go to Marshal Space Flight Center July 19-23 for a workshop regarding this.
5/24 We got 4th place at NATIONALS!!! Celebration at CiCi's Friday after school.
see scores06 for posting of the scores. (right click on this link and choose open in a new window or new tab)
At the finals we got 794 feet and 42.15 seconds for a score of 8.85.
I'm praising God for the witness and testimony of the team.
Mission 2006: Safely launching an egg to 800 ft with a total aloft time of 45secs
News: Of 678 teams, 7000 students, from 47 states and DC, 390 teams submitted qualification scores. Of those, 100 teams were selected to come to the NATIONAL FINALS. We got 4th place!!!
5/13 Garage sale brought in another $75 despite the rain and cold. Praying for God's provision for at least $400 more.
5/12/ 2006
I read of a rocket team from Massachusetts that is trying to raise $7000 for travel to finals. Our goal was only $3000. We are at 45% of that. I think we are about $473.71 away from scraping by. So we haven't been able to get the extra things like team vests or shirts. But we are GOING TO NATIONALS!!!
I don't know what the below 50 degree F and rainy weather will do to our garage sale tomorrow. We may try again on a nicer day after we get back. It is always a good idea to start off with some funds in the budget for next year's challenge.
5/06/2006
According to AAA website for DC and back it will cost about $200 (but we'll have some traveling to do while there). Today's GARAGE SALE brought in $199 (as long as one guy comes back to pick up and pay the other half for an item). Thanks for the donations!
5/04/2006
We had an exciting launch of 807 ft and 44.6 seconds yesterday in Lebanon.
The rocket will be getting painted this weekend. Next launch - Wednesday.
4/21/2006
Motors came in today. Patches were ordered today. Sponsor letters and forms are prepared to be given out. Practice Launch date is set for Tuesday after school at Mr. Newton's farm in Lebanon.
4/13/2006
This year's Covenant Christian Rocket Team has worked hard, especially their captain Travis Eliason. The goal for Team America Rocketry Challenge 2006 is to safely carry a payload of one egg to a height of 800 ft with a total time aloft of 45 seconds. Like in golf, the lowest score wins. Each foot away from 800 and each second off of 45 adds together to give the point total. Three years ago Covenant sent a team to the finals. This year seniors Jon Park, Jeff Stern, Krystal Woo, juniors Travis Eliason, Sarah Kleine, Jung-Up Park, and sophomore Josh Harcourt are looking to improve upon the schools success.
On some of the practice flights Covenant's team had 580 ft, then 680 ft and
1300 ft. With the correct "motor," or rocket engine, found on Saturday,
April 8, Sarah Kleine and Captain Travis launched to 950 ft in preparation
for qualification later that day.
From Newton's 2nd law of motion they knew that the force could be considered
the product of mass and the acceleration, F = ma. Since they had two more
of the same motors which would supply about the same force, the team decided
to add 4 small lead balls. Just after 6 p.m. Korean exchange student Jon
Park and supervising teacher Sean Bird arrived for the official
qualification flights. The result of the first qualification launch in
front of the official NAR (National Association of Rocketry) observer was
902 ft and 54 seconds. A score over 110 probably wouldn't be enough to put
the team in the top 100 to qualify. They had one more attempt to qualify.
With only one motor remaining, practice time was over. The team reset
everything, and were ready to add some more mass. The question: How much? If
everything was a linear relationship, you might think 8 more lead balls
would be perfect. However, it is a bit more complicated. As the providence
of God would have it they only had 6 more balls to add anyway. What with
that, the countdown began again. 5-4-3-2-1...the team's last opportunity to
qualify concluded with a height of 784 ft and a time of
46.37 seconds. A score of 17.37 should be enough to qualify.
By Friday, April 14, the top 100 teams will be annoucned and invited to the
finals near Washington D.C., on May 20. (see
http://aia-aerospace.org
Supervising teacher Sean Bird notes, "When we get confirmation of being in
the top 100, we will be looking for sponsors to provide the funds for travel
and additional practice launches. The team will want to launch many more
times to eliminate variables and get everything down to an exact science.
About $1000 for launches and $2000 for the travel and miscellaneous expenses
would take care of everything quite well."
The official NAR observer Mark Newton took the picture of the successful
rocket as it was lifting off. Bird comments, "As you can see from the
rocket, there is plenty of room on it for sponsor's logos. We could also get
team t-shirts or polos with sponsor's names on it, like we did last time we
made it to nationals in 2003." )
Psalm 90:17 (May the Lord establish the work of our hands),
Sean Bird
2/23/2005
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The previous Saturday proved to be a success for the Covenant Christian Rocket
Team. By changing engine types and increasing parachute diameter they were able
to attain a flight time of 49.56 seconds as opposed to last launch's acquired
time of 32 seconds. It has been determined that the next launch will involve an
even larger parachute to put us closer to the mark of 60 seconds. The team was
also blessed with the presence of a majority of the Bird family and the team
looks well on their way to qualifying for nationals this spring.
--Davydotcom (David Estes) and Daniel Truax
1/18/2005
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Last Saturday the Covenant Christian High School Rocket Team instantiated their
first launch of the school year. The rocket launch proved to be a beautiful site
as our F25-4W engine launched our soaring eagle into the sky. However, the
sustainer engine failed to ignite and as a result, our rocket went ballistic.
The cause appears to be a result of a faulty igniter. After closely examining
the remains of the sustainer. We were able to tell that the igniter did in fact
burn. The fact that the temperature was a shivering 7 degrees (Fahrenheit) could
have caused the ignition failure. you may proceed to download footage of the
launch in the gallery section of the web site. Also, a second launch has been
scheduled this coming Friday.
--Davydotcom (David Estes)
12/01/2004
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Last Saturday proved to be a rather effective rocket team meeting. Although only 3 people showed up the 2 rockets are 80% complete. Expect a launch to occur sometime during Christmas Break
--Captain Kirk and Scotty
10/25/2004
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Rocket Construction has commenced! Last Friday's meeting was a rather productive meeting as we were able to work out some design flaws as weel as begin rocket assembly. We have currently been working on cutting the parts that we need for the rockets to size. This includes body tubes, engine mounts, fins, and nose cones. This coming Friday we hope to finish cutting and sanding all of the body tubes along with the fins needed for the rocket.
--Captain Kirk and Scotty
10/21/2004
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Hey Guys, As you can see I have the starting of the new Web Site Template Up. Enjoy!
--Davy.com