For Immediate Release - May 23, 2008
Contact Info:
Brett Williams or Michelle Woods, IGNITE
(830) 997-3567
mwoods@igniteeducation.org

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NOTE:
Due to the high security clearance affiliated with White Sands Missile Range, the launch is only open upon special invitation. Clearance of the media is available ahead of time. For more information on the White Sands launch, IGNITE, or this program, please call the office of IGNITE at (830) 997-3567 or see our website at www.igniteeducation.org.
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Fresh off a successful rocket launch that was featured on NBC Nightly News, students in Fredericksburg High School's (FHS) SystemsGo Aeroscience program will attempt a more ambitious challenge by launching two 20-foot rockets from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Saturday, May 31. The student-built rockets will carry university research payloads and have the potential to set new flight records.

FHS teacher Brett Williams and his students will leave on Wednesday in order to give them two days for meetings and preparation at the White Sands facility. On Saturday the launch schedule is for Redbird 10 to test at 12:00 noon and Redbird 11 to test at 4:00 pm.

The Redbird 10 was designed and built by Williams' students who graduated from high school in 2005 and 2006. Two previous attempts to launch were unsuccessful, but the team is returning with hopes to loft a research package from Purdue University into near space.

The Redbird 11 is a 500-pound, 20-foot missile that will develop 2000 pounds of thrust to boost it to the edge of space. It will carry a research package developed by graduate students at Stanford University.

According to Williams, both launches hold the potential for setting records for rockets built and flown by American high school students. The rockets are capable of exceeding the current record of 36,000 feet, which was set by Williams' students in 2001. The Redbird 11 actually is capable of reaching 100,000 feet, considered by the United States military as the edge of space.

The primary purpose of the Ignite SystemsGo Aeroscience program is to develop the problem-based education model conceived by Williams. The high school science teacher has used this innovative classroom approach for 13 years. It is endorsed by NASA and certified by The Space Foundation.

With the goal of replicating the system at other high schools, a board has formed Ignite, a non-profit organization that seeks grants, conducts training, and provides administrative support to participating schools. The SystemsGo Aeroscience program will be used in 25 Texas high schools this fall. Ten of those schools participated in Ignite's Rockets '08 near Fredericksburg in April, when 20 rockets were launched over two days.

Once launched, the two rockets will deploy sophisticated research tools. Purdue University will conduct a fluid study of how rocket fuels behave in a microgravity environment. The Stanford package contains two small cubic satellites that will deploy at 20 miles. These will test the feasibility of deploying a constellation of satellites around the moon to facilitate communications for the proposed "moon to Mars" initiative.

"This is the pinnacle of what we have been working on when it comes to problem-based education in America," Williams said. "For some of these students, this is the culmination of three years of work. We can see them get inspired to get into the engineering fields, to step up and begin making a difference to this country."

A team of current and former high school students will accompany Williams to the White Sands Missile Range. They will be joined by graduate and post-doctoral students from Stanford, Purdue, Tulane, and the University of Texas. The rockets will use a 45-foot launch tower designed especially for this project and funded by a grant from NASA.