[Student Designed Webpage UNDER CONSTRUCTION] 

1st meetings NASA_SLIplanningMeeting.pdf  8/16 & 8/24

2007 NASA SLI

One more thing to add to the list of what makes Covenant Christian High School special is that it is the only school in Indiana that is eligible to submit a NASA Student Launch Initiative (SLI) proposal to launch a rocket a mile high that performs an on-board experiment. If their proposal is accepted, NASA will award the team a total of $2500 towards completing the project. NASA will also fly up to 10 team members to Marshall Space Flight Center to present their rocket and launch it.  In essence, Covenant could become a contractor for NASA. However, community and corporate support will be integral to the success of the mission. (See below.)

Covenant Christian High School qualified to participate in Student Launch Initiative because it placed 4^th in the 2006 Team America Rocketry Challenge, the world’s largest rocket competition. 

“The NASA SLI is designed to engage student at the high school level in a learning opportunity that involves design, construction, test, and launch of a reusable launch vehicle and science-related payload.  The initiative is intended to encourage students to pursue careers in engineering or science-related fields.  Teaming with engineers from government, business, and academia, students get a hands-on, inside look at the science and engineering professions.  The selected school will sponsor teams who will each build and launch a reusable rocket carrying the students’ science payload that will launch at the end of April 2007.

 SLI is a competitive rocket and payload-building challenge. It requires an eight (8) month commitment to successfully design, construct, test, launch, and recover a reusable rocket and science payload. The initiative is more than designing and building a rocket from a commercial kit. It involves diverse aspects such as: scheduling, purchasing, performing calculations, financing the project, coordinating logistics, arranging press coverage, and documenting impact made on education through reports and design review. Schools are encouraged to involve a diverse group of departments such as mathematics, science, technology, English, journalism, and art.”

 For more details and links to past participants see http://education.msfc.nasa.gov/docs/127.htm

ON October 16, 2006, OUR PROPOSAL WAS ACCEPTED. Covenant is a NASA contractor.

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How can the community support our efforts:

- For donations, contact the school (317) 390-0202, 7525 W. 21st Street, Indianapolis, IN

- Part of the SLI requirement are a community outreach component. Members of the team can lead a safe hand-on activity about rocketry. We will need contact information for our community outreach. This could be Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troops, elementary or middle schools, or other community groups.

- Because we'll need to have a tracking device placed on the vehicle, we could really use the assistance of someone who has HAM radio experience. I hear this can be done without too great of a cost if you know what you are doing.

- Tools: clamps, vise, foldable workbench, dremel tool with drill bits and cutting disks

- Perhaps someone on this year's team will have a workshop in their home. At this point we plan to do a lot of the work in room 104 at Covenant Christian High School.

- Equipment for launching: Trigger system, launch pad and rail, tower, battery.

- NOMEX - special thanks to Mr. Fishburn with his fire department and racing contacts for the promised help procuring this material.

- Someone qualified to handle up to K class motors and black powder for ejection charges.

posted by Mr. Sean Bird, July 27, 2006

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