en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:51:48 GMT 15 By Katie Landeck
While some kids shoot bottle rockets in their backyards, others work with materials that are sent up to space in a real rocket. The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) runs a program known as LaunchQuest, which is intended for high school students. As part of the program, students plan experiments that will be performed on materials carried in a rocket as it flies 70 miles into space. A group of students at the high school became involved in the program about two months ago. Many of them were encouraged to join by the club’s directors: Robert Melnik and Gary Manuel. In June, CCAT will send the rocket into space and collect the aftermath for the school. It is unlikely that any students will be able to go to the launch. Originally, the launch had been planned for late April and students were going to run the launch. “It is disappointing,” said senior Josh Schussler. “I was pumped to go and prospect of going to New Mexico to see a rocket launch was so cool.” CCAT is still sending up a rocket though, and in it, they will send up a payload of a polymer that was once used in bulletproof vests. They stopped using it in the vests when further research showed that it would deteriorate when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. The samples of the polymer in the rocket will test how the polymer deteriorates outside of the atmosphere when it is exposed to ultraviolet radiation. “It’s a science experiment,” said Melnik. “We are sending up a rocket with a payload and studying the effects of space travel on it. We know the polymers can deteriorate, but the experiment will show us how much.” The rocket they are using is being provided by CCAT, and it is nothing like a little toy bottle rocket. “It has to go up 70 miles and spend some time outside the atmosphere,” said Melnik. “It is a big 20 foot rocket.” CCAT will then send the polymers to UMASS so students can rum tests on the samples. “We will use the labs at UMASS to run tests on the payload,” said Melnik. The testing of the payload will be done in the fall. UMASS has been crucial to the success of this project. “Thank goodness for UMASS,” said Melnik. “I talked to them and they told us about the material [the polymers].” In addition, UMASS has been very flexible in dealing with changes to the project. The testing had originally been planned for May, then August, and UMASS cooperated again when Melnik asked to do the testing in the fall. The students have had the experiment planned for about two months now, and they are eager to start the experiment to see how it works. “I got into this because of my teacher at the time, Mr. Melnik, who told our class about it,” said participating sophomore Zach King. “So far in our meetings we have decided on an experiment and materials we are going to use. My excitement level is pretty high right now and I can’t wait to see what happens next.” All that is left for them to do at this point is waiting. They have their hypothesis and the project plan. Now, all they can do is wait to see what happens after the rocket is launched. ]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 23:37:00 GMT