HAYS — Two Fort Hays State University Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science students recently received a Level 1 national rocketry certification. The certificate was awarded in Argonia at a KLOUDBusters event.
KLOUDBusters is a Kansas rocketry club founded in the early 1990s by two rocket enthusiasts from Goessel. The organization became a prefecture of the Tripoli Rocketry Association in 1991 and shortly thereafter found a home in Argonia.
“According to the Tripoli Rocketry Association, Level 1 certification allows flyers to fly high-power rockets,” said Abby Anderson, KAMS coordinator for marketing and recruitment.
The students who have been working over the fall 2017 semester to build their rockets are Seth Colson, a KAMS senior from Hoisington High School; Christian Ermann, a KAMS senior from Liberal High School; Katie Weisenborn, a KAMS senior from Hays High School; and Jed Werner, Codell, KAMS senior from Plainville High School. Ermann and Werner successfully achieved level one certification, and the others will travel back to Argonia in January to test again.
“Several test flights were conducted in Hays to perfect each rocket’s functions before testing them with KLOUDBusters,” said Anderson.
“The students were tested on their ability to examine, load, create a sustainable motor and properly launch their own rocket,” she said. “They were also responsible for the recovery and repair of the rocket after launch.”