The Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) is an annual American model rocketry competition for students in grades 7 to 12 sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry. The competition began in 2003 as a way to mark the 100th anniversary of flight, but due to a high level of interest it became an annual occurrence. It fosters interest in aerospace engineering careers among the participants, and the national Fly-off in May is an opportunity for corporations, universities, and the armed services to attract students.
The goal of TARC is to design, build and launch a rocket that can safely carry one or two eggs and consistently come very close to a certain flight altitude and duration. Doing well involves good design, workmanship, and altitude prediction, which means that students can learn about engineering, aerodynamics, meteorology, and computer simulation from the competition. A team's score is the sum of the difference between their altitude and the target altitude and twice the difference between their duration and the target duration; the lower the score, the better. Many teams consistently achieve scores less than 10.
The teams with the top 100 qualifying scores submitted in April competed in the National Fly-off that is held during the middle of May at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia. The event receives local and national media coverage and has had several well-known attendees. The 2006 Fly-off was attended by Buzz Aldrin and NASA Associate Administrator Rex Geveden. As the role of TARC as a means to replenish the aerospace industry workforce is increasingly emphasized, the 2007 competition featured several prominent figures. United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave a speech and gave out the awards to the top 10 teams; other attendees included Jay Apt, NASA Associate Administrator Scott Horowitz, Under Secretary of the Air Force Ron Sega and Aldrin, all former astronauts, along with other representatives from the Defense Department, NASA, and the FAA. The winner of the UK Aerospace Youth Rocketry Challenge also made a demonstration launch. The winner receives a trip to the Paris Air Show or the Farnborough Airshow in the England depending on which is hosting a show. (alternates to every other year) The trip is provided by Raytheon Corporation, the top 10 teams receive a share of $60,000 in scholarship money, and the top 25 teams are invited to submit a proposal for one of 15 spots in NASA's Student Launch Initiative (NASA is a government partner in the event). There are 35 awards awarded by the AIA member corporations in various categories.
| Contest Year | Launch date | Egg Count | Height Goal | Time Goal | Other Construction Parameters | Contest Winner | Winning Score | Special Guests and Events | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | 2 | 1500ft (457m) | - | Rocket must have two stages. | Rocket Boys author Homer Hickam, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe | First annual TARC contest. | |||
| 2003-04 | May 15, 2004 | 2 | 1250ft (381m) | - | Rocket must again have two stages. | ||||
| 2004-05 | May 22, 2005 | 2 | 1250ft (381m) | - | Rockets again must have | Dakota County 4-H Federation, Farmington, Minnesota | |||
| 2005-06 | 1 | 800ft (244m) | 45 sec | Statesvile Christian School | 1.79 | NASA Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Associate Administrator Rex Geveden | |||
| 2006-07 | 1 | 850ft (259m) | 45 Sec | Newark Memorial High School | 1.86 | Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Astronaut Jay Apt | |||
| 2007-08 | 2 | 750ft (229m) | 45 Sec | Enloe High School (Team 2) | (Flight 1) 17.64 (Flight 2) 6.3 (Total) 23.94 | Contest adopts new two round flyoff. Best 18 scores move to second round. | |||
| 2008-09 | 1 | 750ft (229m) | 45 Sec | Egg must lay on its side. | Madison West High School (Team 3) | (Flight 1) 11.94 (Flight 2) 8.6 (Total) 20.54 | Second round becomes best of 20. | ||
| 2009-10 | 1 | 825ft (251.5m) | 45 Sec | Portion of Rocket containing egg must return with streamer. | Penn Manor High School (Team 1) | (Flight 1) 3 (Flight 2) 23.32 (Total) 26.32 | Duff Goldman attends with cakes to be flown on a rocket. Rocket is launched on a K size rocket motor to 665 ft (202.7 m). Cake sustained slight damage but was mostly whole. Launch was shown on Goldman's reality show Ace of Cakes | Second Round becomes best of 10. | |
| 2010-11 | May 15, 2011 | 1 | 750ft (229m) | 40-45 Sec | Portion of Rocket containing egg must return with 15in (38cm) parachute. | Rockwell-Heath High School (Team 1) | (Flight 1) 14 (Flight 2) 2 (total) 16 | Second Round returns to best of 20. | |
| 2011-12 | May 12, 2012 | 2 | 800ft (244m) | 43-47 Sec |