Marauders in Space

Maclay Student Astronaut Challenge Wins Multiple Awards at the Annual Competition

Photo by Arahi Vegas

On Feb. 6–8, Maclay’s Students Astronaut Challenge team headed down to Merritt Island, Fla. to compete in the annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) competition. Student Astronaut Challenge involves a series of challenges that participants solve. Before heading to the final challenges, teams of six take a qualifying test and their scores are averaged for ranking. The top teams then head to the Kennedy Space Center to compete in four events hoping to receive a handful of awards in the end.

“My overall favorite memory is getting to walk around the park with my teammates and explore NASA,”  sophomore Lauren Conn said. “We also saw a Falcon 9 rocket launch which was amazing.”

Maclay’s team consists of sophomores Michael Boulos as mission commander, Keya Patel as the pilot and Conn as the engineer, freshmen Emmie Kutter as Mission Control 1 and Ava Abbott as Mission Control 2 and senior Megan Vegas as mission director and this year’s team captain.

The different events include Space Flight Simulation, Engineering Challenge, Landing Challenge and Design Challenge. Space Flight Simulation consists of each team performing the pre-flight operation, launch, orbit and landing. During the Engineering Challenge, each team is provided an aerospace-related issue that they have to find a solution to. The Landing Challenge involves the team working in pairs to attempt to land the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Finally, the Design Challenge consists of a flight patch design and either a Lab Design or a Mailbox Design.

“I would say my favorite part was the space flight simulation,” Vegas said. “We worked so well together, flipping through emergency procedures, finding backup buttons and landing the simulated plane at insane speeds. I was so proud of the team.”

After the challenges ended, Maclay’s Student Astronaut Challenge won first place in the Space Flight Simulation Challenge, third place in the Design Challenge and the Eugene Kranz Award, which is awarded to the Mission Control team that works the best together.

“My favorite part this year was the Simulation Finals,” Conn said. “It was thrilling to go into the simulation room and see what emergencies were thrown our way. While it was extremely stressful, incredible memories were made, and I had so much fun.”