Can school groups attend the rocket launches? What will they experience?

Yes, school groups are welcome to attend rocket launches. However, at this time, attendance must be at the expense of the school groups. Recently, students from Key Peninsula Middle School in Lakebay, Washington raised money for their flight and hotel and got to see their experiments launched from the launchpad at Spaceport America in New Mexico on May 2nd. CCAT was there to make sure their visit was packed with aerospace events. Students got an up-close tour of the rocket the day before the launch, were interviewed by the local news, saw impressive aerospace exhibits, visited beautiful natural sites in the area, and ate some authentic local cuisine. Click here to see the itinerary.

How did the last launch go?

The launch itself was very exciting. Click here to see a video of it. Unfortunately, the rocket did not make it into space. Click here for Up Aerospace's explanation. Space flight is risky, and even though the previous launch in 2007 (SL-2) made it to space (click here for a slideshow), the 2009 one (SL-3) did not, proving that every mission brings its own dangers. However, although disappointing, the mishap does not take away from the many other positive aspects of the program:

"The students have had the educational experience of developing their experiments and learning more about rocketry, and there are still a number of conditions those experiments have been exposed to during the launch itself that may prove interesting for analysis. Over and above everything else, participating in these kinds of groundbreaking events that are setting the stage for the new frontier of commercial aerospace is historically valuable.... Remember: no scientific discovery is ever made without failure; like the early pioneers of aviation history, we forge on." - Susan Palisano, Director of Education Initiatives at CCAT

Pictures from the SL-3 Launch Event (click them for higher resolution):

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