The NC State University High-Powered Rocketry Club competed in the 2023 NASA Student Launch on April 15 in Huntsville, Alabama, and were recognized in multiple competition categories during the awards ceremony this week.
The team, nicknamed “Tacho Lycos,” landed among the stars during the competition, locking in a 4th place overall finish out of 51 total teams in the USLI College and University Division. Also competing were 18 teams that participated in the SLI Middle, High School and Informal Education Institution Division of the competition. These teams were comprised of more than 800 students from across the United States and Puerto Rico. The NC State team’s excellent finish did not come without its fair share of challenges, though.
Just one week before the team was scheduled to take off for Huntsville, their 2023 rocket exploded on the launchpad during a last minute test launch, suffering catastrophic damages to their payload. Despite this, the team rallied quickly and was able to rebuild the payload just in time for competition.
Aside from their excellent 4th place result, the team was also on the podium for several additional awards for the 2023 competition.
The team’s Mario and Rainbow Road-inspired rocket design wooed judges and fellow competitors alike, landing Tacho Lycos 1st place in the aptly-named Best-Looking Rocket Category, and continuing a first-place legacy in the category from last year.
Another mainstay category for the team is the Social Media award, a prize that is presented to the student team that had the most active and creative social media presence throughout the project year, which they have been on the podium for the last two years, earning 1st place in 2022 year, and 2nd in 2023.