ROCKET OWLS COMPETE DURING NASA STUDENT LAUNCH COMPETITION

The Citrus College Rocket Owls demonstrated their ability to soar along with a select group of the nation's elite colleges and universities during the NASA Student Launch competition in Huntsville, Ala., this spring.

NASA Student Launch challenges students to design, build and launch a reusable rocket 1 mile above ground level with a scientific or engineering payload.

In order to be selected for this prestigious competition, the Rocket Owls team, consisting of Janet Alonso, Lillian Chang, Jimmy Lopez, Isabella Molina and team leader Yvonne Villapudua, wrote and submitted a proposal that followed guidelines provided by NASA. Once selected, the team began the eight-month-long competition by participating in a series of design reviews that were submitted to NASA. These included a preliminary design review, a critical design review, a flight readiness review and a launch readiness review. The team also analyzed payload and flight data during a post-launch assessment review.

"These reviews mirror the NASA engineering design lifecycle and provide students with an experience that prepares them for the Human Exploration and Operations workforce of the future," said Dr. Lucia Riderer, physics faculty and Rocket Owls advisor. "All five team members have now been accepted into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) majors at four-year universities this fall, and all five will also participate in STEM-related internships this summer. I am incredibly proud of these outstanding students."

Dr. Riderer thanked the team's sponsors and Citrus College administrators, faculty and staff: "Without their support, the Rocket Owls would not have been able to compete in this highly selective and competitive program."

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This article originally appeared in the June 2017 edition of the Citrus View.