Leech Lake Tribal College Rocket Team Wins Two Awards

Minnesota Space Grant congratulates the Leech Lake Tribal College Rocket Team for receiving the Altitude Award and the Judge’s Award in last spring’s First Nations Launch Competition!

The Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium sponsored the 14th Annual First Nations Launch Competition. More than 119 students participated in the program, representing 21 colleges and universities from eleven states and Canada.

The awards were announced at the First Nations Launch Banquet held on April 29, 2023, at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“Many congratulations are extended to the teams that overcame challenges to complete this year’s competition by traveling to Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin on April 28-29, 2023,” says Christine Bolz, Assistant Director of Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium.

“We thank Carthage College and the amazing team on campus and the Tripoli Rocketry Association that helped make the launch weekend a huge success. We also thank the NASA representatives from Headquarters, Office of STEM Engagement, Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), Kennedy Space Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Glenn Research Center, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory; industry representatives from Blue Origin, The Boeing Company, Arcadis, Raytheon Missile Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Sierra Space, and U.S. Space Force; the Department of Natural Resources at Richard Bong Recreational Area who allows us to launch rockets; AISES, and the National Association of Rocketry Communities; as well as the Space Grant community for their support in making this opportunity available to so many undergraduate students across our great nation.”

The first-place teams, the University of Colorado in Boulder and the University of Washington in Seattle, along with our International Champion, Queens University, will be invited to Kennedy Space Center for a VIP tour in August.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, Peyton Meader, designed the 2023 Mission Patch.  She received $100 plus a framed display of her design.

The Launch Competition is just one of many programs that are a part of the 2023 NASA Artemis Student Challenge.

https://spacegrant.carthage.edu/first-nations-launch/