April 14th, 2023 by WCBC Radio

The Cumberland Civil Air Patrol – a student team out of Cumberland Maryland – is among 100 national finalists in the American Rocketry Challenge. The students will compete against other teams at the National Finals, taking place on May 20 in The Plains, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. In addition to competing for the title of national champion and an all-expense paid trip to the International Rocketry Challenge at the Paris Air Show in June, teams will be competing for $100,000 in prizes. The top 25 teams will automatically receive invitations to NASA’s Student Launch workshop. This year’s competition featured nearly 800 teams and 4,500 students from 45 states. For 2023, each team was required to design, build, and launch model rockets that safely carries one large hen egg to an altitude of 850 feet, stays airborne for between 42 and 45 seconds, and returns the rocket to the ground safely. The twist is, the rocket must separate into two parts after apogee—one section of the rocket must contain the egg and altimeter, and the second the rocket motor(s)—and both parts must land with their own parachutes.