HEUVELTON — Heuvelton Central School recently stood out at the world’s largest student rocketry competition – the American Rocketry Challenge.

The Heuvelton rocketry team was among the 100 teams competing at the National Finals, which took place at Great Meadow in The Plains, VA, on Sunday, May 19.

In total, more than 5,000 students from 922 teams in 45 states competed in the 2024 American Rocketry Challenge.

Heuvelton Central School's rocketry team placed 11th at the National Finals and as a top-25 finisher, they also secured an invitation to participate in NASA’s Student Launch initiative.

This marks the school’s 10th trip to the National Finals and sixth “top 30” performance since Heuvelton science teacher Bob Kennedy took the first team to the finals in 2003. The 2024 Heuvelton rocketry team members are Adam West, Cooper White, Bradyn Dawson, Shane Mudge, and Willem Gleeson. 

The team’s accomplishments follow months of preparation designing, building, and testing a rocket capable of meeting rigorous mission parameters set by the contest’s sponsors – the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), National Association of Rocketry, and more than 20 industry partners. To qualify for the National Finals, participating teams designed, built, and launched model rockets that could safely carry a payload of one raw egg with a target flight duration of 43-46 seconds and an altitude of 820 feet. The requirements for the National Finals were modified to introduce a new challenge to the teams.  

“Congratulations to all the participants and winners of this year’s American Rocketry Challenge,” said Pam Erickson, senior vice president & chief communications officer, RTX. “The dedication and skills they have demonstrated are the foundation for future success in engineering solutions for complex problems.”    

“What an incredible day for all 100 teams who competed today; it’s clear we are witnessing the ascent of the next generation of aerospace innovators,” said Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Eric Fanning.   

NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg, who competed in the National Finals of the inaugural American Rocketry Challenge in 2003, visited with the students throughout the National Finals. Twenty years after he was a participant in the American Rocketry Challenge, Hoburg blasted off to space as the Pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).   

Now in its 22nd year, the American Rocketry Challenge has inspired nearly 95,000 middle and high school students to date to explore education and careers in STEM fields. Teams at the National Finals represented 28 states from Washington to Florida and competed for a total of $100,000 in prize money and scholarships. You can view the full results here.