May 22, 2005

Estacado Magnet Students Break Ground, Sound Barrier

Wayside - To the group of Estacado High students clustered 1,500 feet away from the launch pad, the scene no doubt seemed familiar.

After all, they belong to a generation accustomed to televised space shuttle launches. However, the difference this Sunday afternoon was that they were witnessing this live and the rocket, Matador 1, was their own creation.

When the countdown hit zero, the blue and black missile streaked into the sky, a tongue of flame stretching farther than the rocket's 12-foot length.

By the time Matador 1 reached the highest point of its journey over the flatland of the Panhandle, it had traveled more than 13,500 feet into the sky and reached a speed of nearly 760 mph - all accomplished in slightly less than 30 seconds.

The machine had also crossed the sound barrier, something never before done by U.S. high school students using a solid fuel rocket, said John Chandler, director for Texas Tech's Center for Engineering Outreach.

The flight took place at the Tripoli Rocketry Association flying field about 30 miles southeast of Amarillo. Because of the height reached by Matador 1, the class had to get permission from the Federal Aviation Administration for the launch.

Sunday's successful flight culminated a class project by students in Estacado High's engineering magnet program. Students started work on the rocket in late December.

Taking a chance to reflect on his part in the project, Estacado High freshman Josh Klemme simply said, “It took lots and lots of work.”

“Basically, all of this is for three minutes of joy,” chimed in sophomore Keevin Pruitt, who was standing nearby.

While not denying the ‘cool’ factor of building and launching a high-power rocket, Chandler said the class project served a serious purpose - instilling interest and practical experience in engineering in the nation's next generation of potential engineers.

“There's a shortage of engineers in this country,” he said. ‘Enrollments are declining, not just at Tech. We have to import expertise, and that's a dangerous situation.”

By engaging students early in their career, Chandler hopes to give them skills that will allow more of them to be successful once they reach college.

He noted that about 46 percent of students drop out of engineering programs by the end of their sophomore year.

Chandler's office sponsored and partially underwrote the Matador 1 project.

The students were also helped by Pat Gordzelik, who built the customized 34-inch engine that motored the rocket.

Gordzelik, vice president of Tripoli Rocketry Association, an international group dedicated to high-power rocketry, said the propellant used in Matador 1 is the same as what's used in the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters.

“It's all about the fire, smoke and noise,” he said.

The project allowed team members to focus on the portions of engineering that interested them most.

Valentin Baca, a junior, stayed far back from the launch team, huddled over a laptop computer that would take telemetry readings from the rocket as it fell to earth.

Baca explained that he wanted to be a computer engineer after attending college. He has hopes of entering an Ivy League school.

He was accompanied by Amparo Gomez, who was one of the project's few girls to make it to Sunday's launch.

‘I came into this project knowing nothing about rockets,” she said. “Now I know a great deal.”

The sophomore aspires to study aeronautical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or perhaps Princeton. She credits the Matador 1 project for giving her the hands-on experience that will give her a leg up in college. And she said she's grown to enjoy the noise and smoke of rocketry as well.

“It interests me as much as (the boys),” she said.

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Estacado Magnet Students Break Ground, Sound Barrier