Student Teams to Gather in North Alabama for NASA's Student Launch

	March 31, 2017  MEDIA ADVISORY M17-021 Student Teams to Gather in North Alabama for NASA's Student Launch The public and media are invited as nearly 60 student teams compete in NASA's 17th annual Student Launch, near the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Saturday, April 8. The high school, college and university teams from 23 states, will launch their student-built rockets from Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama. Each rocket is designed to fly to an altitude of 5,280 feet, or 1 mile, deploy an automated parachute system, and safely land and recover to be eligible for prizes and awards in various divisions. In preparation for launch, students will participate in a Rocket Fair from 4 to 6:30 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 7 at the Von Braun Center's East Hall in downtown Huntsville. Teams will showcase their rocket’s design and payload and answer questions from hundreds of engineers and team members from NASA and long-time Student Launch corporate sponsor Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia. Following the launches, the week's events will conclude with an awards banquet, funded by Orbital ATK, from 4-6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 8, at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. Media interested in covering the Student Launch events should contact Angela Storey at 256-544-0034 no later than 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4. The rocket launches are open to the public and will stream live online at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc Week-long Schedule of Events: April 7: Rocket Fair from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Von Braun Center East Hall April 8: Launch Day from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (or until last rocket launches) at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama April 8: Orbital ATK Awards Banquet from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center's Davidson Center April 9: Tentative rain day in case of deterring weather from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (or until last rocket launches) at Bragg Farms Student Launch is a research-based, experiential activity requiring an eight-month commitment from students to design, fabricate, test and launch a rocket, as well as complete a lengthy series of real-world comprehensive flight reviews, all overseen by NASA staff, engineers and scientists. Orbital ATK provides awards in areas such as Best Design, Altitude, Safety and others, as well as an overall cash prize of $5,000 to the highest-ranking college/university team. The Academic Affairs Office at Marshall manages Student Launch, working to link to NASA’s major education goal of attracting and encouraging students to pursue degrees and careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  NASA’s Office of Education, NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate and Orbital ATK’s Propulsion Systems Division of Promontory, Utah, and the National Space Club of Huntsville provide funding and leadership. For more details, rules, photos from previous events, and links to social media accounts providing real-time updates, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education/studentlaunch
	Press Contacts Angela Storey Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-544-0034 angela.storey@xxxxxxxx
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