When I arrived for the first time at the Go For Launch! venue in Mars, PA, I was feeling nervous. There were so many students from many different schools, with different attitudes and opinions. Before this, I had always had an internal fear of meeting new people. But I found that participating in Go For Launch! was not only fun and educational, but allayed my worries about working in a team with new people through fun teambuilding challenges and competitions.
One of my favorites was building a model spacecraft launch tower. Built out of index cards, paper, and tape, it had to withstand high winds (a small handheld fan), and the tallest tower would win. Drawing inspiration from tall radio towers, I suggested that our tower have tape “cables” connecting the midpoint of the tower to the table. I love these kinds of engineering challenges - making the most of limited and/or specific materials. In the end, our team won, and I immediately felt closer to my teammates, and it was a great experience to work with each other after that.
But of course, this program isn’t just about having fun. The main event is developing a unique experiment that could be flown to space to collect data. After seeing the competitive mindset of everyone that day, I was feeling nervous. Everyone was highly motivated, and I felt that every team would come up with a creative idea.
We decided on a slime mold experiment to observe the development of a fungus in zero gravity. We found previous research to back up our idea, and built a presentation. I had been honing my presentation skills during the previous school year, and I decided that our “hook” on the first slide would be about the Tokyo subway system.
To this day I still like to believe that my intro was what led to our team being selected for launch, but, of course, it wouldn’t have happened without the essential contributions made by the rest of them. After the euphoria of being selected had worn off, I realized that exciting things were ahead.
It took a year to get through the design process and wait through the many delays that come with rocket launches. But finally, the design process was complete, and the launch date was finalized. Being able to say that I have contributed something to the ISS is just an amazing feeling.
Looking back, I am grateful to have been in a program with so many great students. And looking forward, I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I became involved in building something for the immense human accomplishment that is the ISS.
Written By Stellar Student Daniel Tabakov, Team Cosmic Critters, Winners of Go For Launch! Mars 2024
