UH Community College students in Alabama prep for NASA launch competition

VIDEO NEWS RELEASE

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Kelli Abe Trifonovitch, (808) 228-8108
Chief Communications Officer, UH Communications
Posted: Apr 9, 2019

Kapi‘olani CC student Lauren Grzegorczyk preps the rocket with Windward CC mentor Jacob Hudson.
Kapi‘olani CC student Lauren Grzegorczyk preps the rocket with Windward CC mentor Jacob Hudson.
UH Manoa mechanical engineering student Matthew Nakamura works on the Project Imua rocket.
UH Manoa mechanical engineering student Matthew Nakamura works on the Project Imua rocket.
NASA Deputy Manager Trey Cate explained the new Space Launch System (SLS).
NASA Deputy Manager Trey Cate explained the new Space Launch System (SLS).

LINK TO VIDEO AND SOUND (details below): https://bit.ly/2CUcBiw

WHO:  Ten University of Hawaiʻi Community College students from Honolulu, Kapi‘olani and Windward Community Colleges and from UH Mānoa comprise the Project Imua Mission 6 team.

WHAT:   They are preparing to launch the rocket and payload they designed and built in the NASA Student Launch Competition.

Their 10-foot-tall rocket is named “Fissure 8” after the prominent volcanic vent in the 2018 eruption on Hawai‘i Island.

The payload is a four-wheeled rover named “Ho‘omau” (the Hawaiian values of perseverance and persistence) designed to travel 10 feet before collecting a soil sample.

WHEN:  Launch is scheduled for Saturday, April 6, 2019 (UH News will send VNR of launch that day)

WHERE:  Huntsville, Alabama

At today’s welcome ceremony they saw a presentation on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), which will be the most powerful rocket NASA ever built. When completed, SLS will enable astronauts to begin their journey to explore destinations far into the solar system.

WHY:  Project Imua’s primary mission is to develop small payloads for space flight while providing undergraduates with project-based learning opportunities in STEM fields.

HOW:  The Hawai‘i Space Grant Consortium awarded Project Imua a grant of $65,931, which covered materials, student stipends and travel expenses.

OTHER FACTS:

  • NASA will be livestreaming the launches, currently slated for Saturday, April 6, on the NASA Student Launch Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NASAStudentLaunch).  The broadcast will start at 8:40 am CDT.  Livestream of the launches includes interviews with the teams and NASA VIPs and guests.  The launches typically conclude around 2:00 pm CDT, when the broadcast will wrap.

  • NASA Student Launch competition teams are challenged to “call their shot” and predict before launch day how high their rocket will fly.

  • Project Imua social media:

VIDEO:

BROLL: (1 minute, 47 seconds)

0:00-0:41, 7 clips: Project Imua team at the welcome ceremony session

(At today’s welcome ceremony they saw a presentation on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), which will be the most powerful rocket NASA ever built. )

0:41-1:47, 10 clips: Project Imua team assembling their rocket 

SOUNDBITES:

Lauren Grzegorczyk, Kapi‘olani CC student (13 seconds)

“Our team specifically for this specific project had to design, engineer, like this is all real-world experience we’re gaining.  And so it’s just a type of experience that you can’t really replicate in classes.”

Eric Takahashi, UH Mānoa engineering student (12 seconds)

“Iʻm feeling a little nervous, but also very excited. It was really cool to watch the information about the SLS mission during our intro. Weʻre really excited to be here.”

Takahashi (9 seconds)

“I would describe rocket science to be very challenging, difficult at times, sometimes it’s also very stressful, but, at the end of the day, it’s very rewarding.”