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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration

DATE

NASA STEM

NASA Student Launch ARW

Introduction

PRESENTED BY NASA Student Launch

DATE July 24, 2023
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NASA Student Launch Management Team

Fred Kepner

NASA Office of STEM Engagement

Activity Lead

Mr. Kepner joined the Marshall Space Flight Center 

(MSFC) Office of STEM Engagement in 2010. He 

currently manages NASA Student Launch, one of 

NASA’s Artemis Student Challenges, and is the 

Technical Officer overseeing numerous NASA research 

grants to colleges and universities. 

Prior to working at MSFC, Mr. Kepner was the Science 

Department Chairperson and taught Physics at an allboys boarding school near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Kepner also mentored the school’s rocketry team, 

SCUBA club, and yearbook staff. He was Scoutmaster 

of Boy Scout Troop 53 and earned the rank of Eagle 

Scout in his youth. 

Fred.Kepner@nasa.gov

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NASA Student Launch Management Team

John Eckhart

NASA Office of STEM Engagement

Mr. Eckhart graduated from University of Toledo with a 

dual major in adolescent young adult education and 

applied mathematics. He then graduated from Purdue 

University with a Masters Degree in Aeronautical and 

Astronautical Engineering. Mr. Eckhart taught High 

School Advanced Placement Mathematics courses for 6 

years, served as an Advanced Placement Calculus 

Reader for College Board. and joined NASA in 2020. 

john.r.eckhart@nasa.gov

Technical Coordinator

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NASA Student Launch Management Team

Allison Chouinard

NASA Office of STEM Engagement

Ms. Chouinard is STEM Educator and Instructional 

Facilitator with 15+ years of experience in the high 

school science classroom. Prior to teaching she 

graduated from St. Joseph’s College for Women with a 

Bachelors degree in Molecular and Cell Biology. Ms. 

Chouinard received a Masters of Secondary Science 

Education from the University of North Carolina at 

Charlotte and served as an Instructional Facilitator in 

North Carolina Public Schools before joining NASA in 

2020. 

allison.i.chouinard@nasa.gov

Logistics Coordinator

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NASA Student Launch Management Team

Zachary Koch

NASA Office of STEM Engagement

Mr. Koch is a graduate of the University of Alabama in 

Huntsville with 16 years of Safety Engineering 

experience at Bastion Technologies at Marshall Space 

Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He has worked 

Industrial Safety, Test and Operations, SLS Systems 

Integration Safety, and has 10 years total experience 

working with NASA OSTEM for both the Student Launch 

and Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) 

programs.

zachary.a.koch@nasa.gov

Safety Engineer

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• NASA Student Launch (SL) is a researched-based, hands-on

activity.

• SL provides relevant, cost-effective research and development of

rocket systems.

• SL also provides a real-life STEM experience for students.

Modeled after the NASA Engineering Design Cycle

• SL provides NASA-unique opportunities through a national STEM

challenge.

• SL reaches middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities

across the nation through a 9-month project to design, construct,

and fly high-powered rockets with a scientific payload.

• SL teams will share the research results, which can be used in

future design and development of NASA projects.

What is NASA Student Launch?

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• 9-month commitment (Aug - May)

• Engineering design challenge; teams must send in a

proposal and be competitively selected

• Design and build a reusable rocket to a declared altitude

above ground level carrying a scientific payload

• Successfully complete milestone reports and flysheets,

design reviews, test launches, and a flight hardware and

safety inspection

• Provide STEM engagement activities to community

participants

• Develop and maintain a social media platform

General Overview

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2024 Activity Timeline: Link

August • Student Launch Handbook release & request for proposals: August 14, 2023

September • Team proposals submitted: September 11, 2023

• Participating teams selected.

October • Participating teams announced: October 4, 2023

• Activity year kick-off informational session

November • Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR) milestone

• Team submit flysheet, report and present to the NASA SL Management Team

January

• Critical Design Reviews (CDR) milestone

• Teams have completed subscale test launch

• Teams submit flysheet, report and present to the NASA SL Management Team

March

• Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR) milestone

• Teams have completed or are completing full scale Vehicle Demonstration Flight and Payload Demonstration Flight

• Teams submit flysheet, report and present to the NASA SL Management Team

April-May

• Launch Week Events in Huntsville, AL

• Launch at Home window for teams not traveling

• Teams submit Post Launch Assessment Review (PLAR)

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Divisions

Student Launch Initiative (SLI)

Middle and High School Teams

University Student Launch Initiative (USLI)

University and College Teams

Middle/high school teams must place in the top of the 

America Rocketry Challenge (ARC) or Rockets for Schools to 

be eligible.

Any University can submit a proposal to participate in the 

USLI competition.

Must have one teacher or mentor who has attended the 

Advanced Rocketry Workshop (ARW). No ARW requirement.

SLI is not a competition, but several awards are given. USLI is a competition and awards are given.

Must use commercial ammonium perchlorate motors. 

Motor size limited to K class.

Must use commercial ammonium perchlorate motors. 

Motor size limited to L class.

Team chooses scientific payload with NASA’s approval.

*can opt to complete USLI Payload Challenge Team must complete a mission challenge defined by NASA.

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Students will do 100% of the project, including design, construction, written reports, presentations, and flight 

preparation (except for energetics, see below)

ALL SLI Teams must have a Rocketry Mentor: 

• Mentor must maintain Level 2 NAR/TRA certification and must have flown AND successfully recovered at least 2 

flights in the motor to be used by the team or a higher impulse class. 

• Only the team mentor can handle motor, black powder or any variant of ejection charges, and prepping/installation 

of electric matches

• The mentor is designated as the owner of the rocket for liability purposes and must travel with the team to launch 

week and at-home launches and testing. 

• Mentor must be an adult. Student team members with HPR certifications are NOT permitted to be team mentors or 

carry out any duties of the mentor as outlined above. 

ALL SLI Teams must have an Advisor:

• Advisor must be an adult (ex: educator, parent etc.). We do not recommend that the same person be both the team’s 

advisor and mentor

General SLI Requirements

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The NASA SLI Team’s vehicle shall...

• carry a scientific payload of the team’s discretion (approved by

NASA).

• fly to a declared altitude, to be determined by team, at PDR.

• be designed to land within 2500 ft of the launch pad.

• have a dual-deployment recovery system that is fully

redundant.

• contain electronic tracking devices on every un-tethered

section.

• use only commercially available, certified motors and

altimeters.

• be flown with team-provided motors and energetics (NASA

does not provide motors or energetics)

General SLI Requirements

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More than rocketry:

• Technical writing

• Application of classroom lessons

• Presentation skills

• Budgets / Purchasing

• Timelines & schedules

• Community outreach

• Educational engagement

• Teamwork

Educational Value

Building a future workforce:

TARC > SLI > USLI > Internships > Workforce

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Launch Week 2024 – April 10 - 14

Schedule:

Wednesday April 10 – Team Arrival Day

Thursday – Friday April 11 & 12 – All-Day Activities

Saturday April 13 – Launch Day

Sunday April 14 – Back-Up Launch Day

Launch Week Activities Location: 

Von Braun Center – 700 Monroe St. Huntsville, AL

Launch Day Location: 

Bragg Farms – 1800 Grimwood Rd. Toney, AL

Huntsville International Airport

1000 Glenn Hearn Blvd. Huntsville, AL

Huntsville Visitors Bureau

Bragg Farms

Von Braun Center

HSV Airport

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