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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNewport High School has been competing in the American\nRocketry Challenge since 2014. In addition to Gwozdz, members of the winning\nteam include Samuel Chen, Rita Liu, Rose Liu, Brandon Luo, Ethan Luo, Kavin\nManivasagam, Vanu Rao, Shreyas Subramanian, and Minghan Sun. First runner up in\nthe National Finals competition was also a Newport High School team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCongratulations to this year\u2019s American Rocketry Challenge\ncompetitors and winners,\u201d said Greg Hayes, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon\nTechnologies. \u201cIt\u2019s remarkable to see these high school students strategize,\nplan, build and adjust to uncontrollable variables to solve a complex\nchallenge. We hope this experience inspires them to advance their learning and\nchoose a career focused on solving the world\u2019s most complex challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team\u2019s victory follows months of preparation designing,\nbuilding, and testing a rocket capable of meeting rigorous mission parameters\nset by the contest\u2019s sponsors \u2013 the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA),\nNational Association of Rocketry, and more than 20 industry partners. To\nqualify for the National Finals, teams were required to build and launch a\nrocket that safely carries a payload of two raw eggs with a target flight\nduration of 41-44 seconds and altitude of 835 feet. At the National Finals,\ncompeting teams had to launch the rockets to 810 feet with a flight duration of\n40-43 seconds in the first round of competition. The top 42 teams conducted a\nsecond launch that was required to reach 860 feet with a flight duration of\n42-45 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe aerospace and defense industry is helping define our\nfuture, and the opportunities available to these students and others in our\nsector are limitless,\u201d said Eric Fanning, President and CEO of AIA. \u201cIt\u2019s\nincredible to share the excitement that is the hallmark of A&D with these\nstudents and to see them bring the same kind of enthusiasm to their work in\nthis competition. It\u2019s hands-on\nengineering that truly is rocket science,\u201d he continued. \u201cCompetitors in the\n2022 American Rocketry Challenge will be the leaders in the industries defining\nour future\u2014whether building the rockets that will take humans to Mars,\ndesigning for a more sustainable world, or innovations beyond our current\nimagination. We can\u2019t wait to see the places they\u2019ll go and look forward to\nrooting for Newport High School when they represent the United States in the\nInternational Finals in July.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teams at the National Finals represented 27 states from\nHawaii to Connecticut and competed for a total of $100,000 in prize money and\nscholarships. The prize pool will be split among the Top 10 teams, with Newport\nHigh School taking home the top prize of $20,000 as U.S. champions. In\naddition, the top 25 finishers receive an invitation to participate in NASA\u2019s\nStudent Launch initiative to continue their exploration of rocketry with\nhigh-powered rockets and challenging mission parameters. In addition, winners\nof the Marketing Competition, Presentation Competition, and Best First Time\nFinalist were honored at the National Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2022 marks the 20th year of the American Rocketry Challenge,\nand the first time since 2019 the top teams competed in a National Finals\nlaunch. The National Finals were cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, and in 2021\nteams competed in 10 Regional Finals located in sites across the country \u2013 also\na precaution implemented as a result of the pandemic. To date, the American\nRocketry Challenge has inspired more than 85,000 middle and high school\nstudents to explore education and careers in STEM fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n