During the summer of 2023, participants in the annual First Nations Launch High-Power Rocket Competition had the opportunity to watch NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 launch at the Kennedy Space Center.
Students and advisors from the University of Washington, the University of Colorado-Boulder, and a team from Queen’s University in Canada—who were the grand prize teams for the 2023 First Nations Launch—traveled to Kennedy for a VIP tour, which culminated in witnessing the Crew-7 launch.
Among the participants was a second-year student from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering who was part of the MIT First Nations Launch team that competed in the 15th Annual First Nations Launch National Rocket Competition.
The MIT team placed second overall, successfully launching their rocket to a height of 1,290 meters.
Other competing teams included the University of Waterloo, and the University of British Columbia in NASA’s 2023–24 First Nations Launch competition held in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with winners announced in June 2024.
The First Nations Launch competition, which has been running for over a decade, includes students from tribal colleges and universities, Native American-serving nontribal institutions, and collegiate chapters of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.
It was developed under NASA’s Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium. While the consortium manages the event, NASA provides funding and has incorporated it into the agency’s Artemis Student Challenges program.
The First Nations Launch competition offers students from tribal colleges, Native American-serving nontribal institutions, or collegiate chapters of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society the opportunity to design, build, and launch a high-powered rocket.
The 16th annual First Nations Launch competition for Native American students is currently underway.
This event is facilitated by the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium and managed by NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with funding from the Minority University Research and Education Project.
The competition encourages teams of undergraduate students to conceive, design, fabricate, and compete with their rockets, serving as a “first step” experience for those with limited or no prior experience in high-powered rocketry.
Winners of the competition will be announced from April 25 to 27, 2025.
DMSE second-year Jeremy Minniear was part of the 2023 MIT First Nations launch team at the 15th Annual First Nations Launch National Rocket Competition. They placed 2nd overall, successfully blasting their rocket to a height of 1,290 meters. https://t.co/GZSKKytbWH pic.twitter.com/nljYn5KnjJ
— DMSE at MIT (@mit_dmse) November 9, 2023
Winning teams from the First Nations Launch High-Power Rocket competition got a VIP tour of @NASAKennedy last weekend & watched the Crew-7 astronauts launch to the @Space_Station! 🚀🤩
Read more about the winning teams: https://t.co/voZ5SimUig
— NASA STEM (@NASASTEM) August 30, 2023
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