Engineering Rocket Launch

On April 29th, 2022, at approximately 2:40pm, the GALA high school Engineering class launched their rockets.

Teams of 2 to 3 students made their group’s rockets sporting various designs, from a painted on minion rocket to a pink and stickered “Mission Slay.” The class had been working on these for around a month and this was the culminating moment to test their designs.

I asked Lina, an Engineering student, to talk about the design process. She said that her favorite part was decorating her team’s rocket, “Mission Slay” with pink paint and fun stickers. The biggest challenge she expressed was assembling parts of the rocket because it required precision and no room for error.

There was excitement in the air as students from nearby classes emerged from their rooms to witness the launch on the field. For each launch, people harmoniously counted down from 10.

As soon as the button connected to the launch pad was pressed, the rocket shot into the air in a mini cloud of smoke, leaving behind a sulfurous smell and students excitedly scrambling out of the way as the rocket fell from where it ran out of momentum.

Aside from the malfunctioning of the parachutes, all of the rockets successfully launched above the height of the trees bordering the GALA field.
It was heartwarming to see the gathering of students of all grades all equally excited to see these student creations launched into outer GALA space. Hopefully, this showcasing event will encourage students to look into Engineering–I know I was intrigued!