California Wing CAP Squadron 64 shines in world's largest rocket contest

A rocketry team of cadets from Civil Air Patrol Brackett Composite Squadron 64 in La Verne, California, placed 12th at the 2024 National Finals of the American Rocketry Challenge, known as the world's largest rocket contest. The finals were held in May at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia. More than 5,000 students from 922 teams in 45 states competed in the 2024 American Rocketry Challenge.

AEOs and AEMs, if you have a rocket team interested in competing in this event, registration has opened for the 2025 American Rocketry Challenge. Registration will close on Dec. 1 or once 1,000 applications have been submitted. For more information on the 2025 contest, click here.

As a Top 25 finisher, the Squadron 64 team, the Rocket Ducks, earned an invitation to participate in NASA's Student Launch initiative to continue their exploration of rocketry. This is their fourth consecutive year earning a place to compete in the National Finals, and their first Top 25 finish.

“This was our fourth invitation to the National Finals and our best performance to date,” said Captain Doug Stahl, Assistant Aerospace Education Officer, Civil Air Patrol Brackett Composite Squadron 64. “We're very proud of our cadets and their accomplishments.”

The Rocket Ducks rocketry team is part of Civil Air Patrol’s cadet program, which introduces youth to aviation through aerospace and STEM education. Team members are Civil Air Patrol Cadets: Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Michael Hurwitz, Cadet Senior Airman Lyle Mideiros, Cadet Staff Sergeant Ivan Alfaro, Cadet Airman First Class Luke Desrosiers, Cadet Airman First Class Malia Torres, and Cadet Airman First Class Gabriella Torres.

The team’s accomplishments follow months of preparation designing, building, and testing a rocket capable of meeting rigorous mission parameters set by the contest’s sponsors – the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), National Association of Rocketry, and more than 20 industry partners. To qualify for the National Finals, participating teams designed, built, and launched model rockets that could safely carry a payload of one raw egg with a target flight duration of 43-46 seconds and an altitude of 820 feet. The requirements for the National Finals were modified to introduce a new challenge to the teams.

View the full results of the competition here.