Marble Falls High School class launching into orbit

This year, the physics teacher introduced a new class — Aeroscience I with Aeroscience II and Aeroscience III coming in the next two years.

The ultimate goal of the program is to build a rocket that carries a 35-pound payload 100,000 feet into the air.

“That’s basically the edge of space,” Guffey said.

This year, however, the students are learning rocketry and aeroscience basics with a plan to launch a rocket carrying a 1-pound payload a mile into the air in April. Next year, students want to launch a rocket that travels faster than the speed of sound before tackling the 100,000-foot mission.

Back on Earth, the students are currently designing rockets that can reach at least 1,600 feet. 

“They’re working on their Generation 3 models,” Guffey said. “They’ve already built a Generation 1 and a Generation 2 rocket.”

High school classes tackling space flight aren’t new to Texas. The curriculum Guffey follows is called SystemsGo, created by Brett Williams, a Fredericksburg High School teacher.

Williams introduced the rocketry and aeroscience program to FHS in 1996. Guffey said what makes the class so exciting — besides studying aeroscience and launching rockets — is how it can bring together students from a variety of academic backgrounds.

“When we started the class this year, I didn’t put any criteria on it,” he said. “So we have a wide range of students. Some of the students are extremely strong academically while others are better with hands-on things. After watching them this fall, I’ve found that it’s been a good combination. We don’t just need students who are good with the numbers but can also look at the project and figure out how to build (the rocket).”

The FHS program has achieved national attention with the students attempting to launch at least one craft 100,000 feet into the air. To achieve a successful launch, they have to use the Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Guffey said Fredericksburg has attempted to reach an altitude of 100,000 feet with their rockets four times, but they haven’t quite hit the mark.

“I think they’ve gotten to 40,000 feet or more,” he said. “Still, think about what the students have learned along the way.”

And where they have gone since.

Guffey said several Fredericksburg graduates have landed careers with NASA. 

With more private companies getting into the “space race,” he said students interested in math, science and physics will have greater job opportunities. In September a private aeroscience company called Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, successfully launched a craft into space and achieved Earth orbit.

“This was the first private company to put a rocket of this type in space,” Guffey said.

A former Fredericksburg aeroscience student was a member of the team that launched the craft.

Since the local program is in the first year, the Marble Falls class started with simpler and easier rockets. There have been plenty of challenges, though.

Guffey didn’t give the students much direction For the Generation 1 rockets — just build one, he told them. Using teams of two, the neophyte rocket scientists went to work. Some craft achieved flight — others didn’t.

Guffey provided more direction in the Generation 2 design and development.

“The challenge was (achieving) stable flight,” he said. “I think every rocket that took off did get stable flight.”

Now with Generation 3, the stakes are a bit higher — say, 1,600 feet higher.

The design step is more complex as well. The students use a computer program to design a rocket using a solid-fuel source capable of attaining 1,600 feet. 

Guffey reminded the students the engine is the same size and type they used in the previous two craft but this time the altitude is higher. 

“So your design is very important,” he said.

Through a computer simulation, the students can “launch” their rocket to make sure their design can attain 1,600 feet. But Guffey told the students they must also factor in other variables such as the launch-site elevation, wind speed and relative humidity. Since there is no exact way to know the weather conditions on the future launch date, Guffey recommended the teams use humidity and wind averages to get a rough idea of what to expect.

Before the launch, the students will also review weather forecasts to help determine the  effect on their rockets.

“I know one of the popular things you hear about NASA from (the movie “Apollo 13”) is failure is not an option,” Guffey said. “But I’m trying to show them that it is an option if you don’t handle your responsibilities, come up with a good design and build as closely to it as possible.”

The physics teacher said he believes this program will be good for Marble Falls students as the projects become bigger and more complex. And from Marble Falls, it could lead the students on a path that includes opportunities with NASA or private aeroscience and aerospace companies, he said.

“There’s going to be a lot of opportunities for students with aeroscience educations — not just with NASA,” Guffey said.

So maybe Guffey’s students won’t be shooting for the moon after all — but beyond it.

daniel@thepicayune.com