Students can now build and launch model rockets with the Choate Rocketry Club.
New juniors Aris Tambakis ’19 and Jack Smoot ’19 have started the Choate Rocketry Club, wasting no time getting involved in the Choate community. The Choate Rocketry Club strives to teach others about model rockets, learn how to create them, and to use these creations to participate in model rocket competitions. So far, they have held an informational meeting, which approximately 20 students attended. In the meeting Tambakis and Smoot started off with building smaller cardboard rockets, but they hope to build larger, more complex ones as the year progresses.
Given that it’s a new club, Choate Rocketry is still in the process of being approved as an official Choate organization, as all of the club requirements still need to be processed by COSA, the Committee on Student Activities.
Smoot shared his thoughts and hopes for the club’s future. “Once we receive funding, we will begin building larger-scale rockets to enter into competitions.” One competition in particular that the club hopes to participate in is the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC), a part of the National Association of Rocketry, a competition in which rockets are designed to complete different challenges and tasks, such as reaching a certain altitude in a specified amount of time.
The two founders came up with the idea for the club only a few weeks ago. They were inspired to bring model rocketry to Choate after going to the recent Maker Faire in New York, an event that showcases a variety of technological projects and inventions. There, they saw 3-D printers and and a rocket.
Tambakis, who was involved and interested in model rocketry prior to coming to Choate, said, “When I saw this huge rocket at the Maker Faire, I thought to myself, it’d be pretty neat to start a club here at Choate.” Both leaders agreed that the club has so far been everything they’ve expected, and they hope to expand upon their progress and move forward as an active presence on campus.
