RCS Engineering is still putting Russellville on the map – now in the international sphere, with a first place win in the International Rocketry Challenge at the 2015 Paris Air Show on June 19.

The U.S. team, sponsored by Raytheon, beat teams from the United Kingdom, who came in second place, and France, who took home third, according to a recent press release from the Aerospace Industries Association.

Competing teams designed, built and launched rockets with a goal of reaching an altitude of exactly 800 feet within a 46-48-second flight window. This year’s contest required rockets to separate into at least two sections during flight. The main section, containing a payload of one raw hen’s egg and an altimeter, had to return to the ground safely with a single parachute as its sole recovery device.

Scores were determined by how close the rockets approached the required height and time; cracked eggs would disqualify the flight.

RCS Engineering includes Cristian Ruiz, 16; Niles Butts, 17; Andrew Heath, 17; Katie Burns, 13; Evan Swinney, 18; Cady Studdard, 14; and Chelsea Suddith, 15.

The team achieved a winning flight score of 49.53 and logged an altitude of 824 feet.

“This was a wonderful competition, and after seeing our U.S. representatives and the teams from France and the U.K., I am truly impressed by the young talent that is here today,” said AIA President and CEO Dave Melcher. “As they leave here with vivid memories of how exciting it was to compete at this level, I urge our outstanding rocket teams to use this experience as a springboard for their futures.”

RCS Engineering

Contirbuted

progressed to the international competition following a win in the Team American Rocketry Challenge in Virginia earlier this spring.

“Rocketry requires a strong command of math, a solid foundation of physics and a tremendous amount of patience and determination,” said Raytheon Chairman and CEO Thomas A. Kennedy. Raytheon sponsored Team America’s trip to the international competition. “The achievement of these competitors deserves a global stage, and we hope to show other students around the world that hard work and a love for science can lead them to great things.”

This is the tenth year that Raytheon has supported the U.S. team’s trip to the international air show. The program is part of the company’s broad-based MathMovesU® initiative to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Check out the print version of the “Franklin County Times” Wednesday for more information on these student champions.