What two teenagers from a struggling school district, bitten by
the rocketry bug, can teach us about creating a new generation
of scientists and engineers With bright pops and trailing
screams, hand-built rockets fly toward the sun in graceful
(occasionally precarious) arcs. High school students from across
the country huddle together anxiously, waiting for their turns
to compete in the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC). The
task is not easy: Each rocket has to propel two eggs to an
altitude of 800 feet and return them safely to the ground within
43 to 47 seconds. The tension subsides only when competitors
hear the faint crack from their rocket at the peak of flight,
indicating the parachute has deployed and the cargo has a chance
of survival. Some rockets perform exceptionally; others misfire.
But with every "three, two, one... launch!" the crowd's
attention grows intensely focused. Rocket launches, however many
dozen in a row, do not stop being cool. It's a warm but
thankfully unhumid day in The Plains