Blasting Off to the Nationals!

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Our ARC Team 2025 qualified to compete in the National Finals of the 23rd Annual American Rocketry Challenge (ARC), the world’s largest student rocket competition.

 Out of 1,001 teams that competed, the Golden Gate Rocket Labs, comprised of the Quarry Lane students Andrew Truong 11th, Austin Overholt 11th, Jesse Wu 9th and Ryan Wong 12th, is one of 100 teams from across the country vying for the title of National Champion. The National Finals will take place on Saturday, May 17 in The Plains, Virginia, 45 miles outside Washington, DC.

Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association, the National Association of Rocketry, and more than 15 industry, government, and academic partners, the American Rocketry Challenge is the aerospace and defense industry’s flagship program designed to encourage students to pursue study and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The competition challenges middle and high school students to design, build and fly a rocket that meets specific altitude and flight duration parameters.

The ARC challenges students to apply real-world engineering skills as they design, build, and launch rockets capable of safely carrying a payload of two raw eggs to an altitude of 790 feet, with a target flight time of 41 to 44 seconds.

To qualify, teams must submit at least two valid flight scores (from three attempts), with the best two combined for a final score. This year’s cutoff to qualify was 28.6.

“After three years of hard work and so many obstacles, we never gave up—and we finally made it to the National Finals. From weather delays and motor shortages to losing part of our rocket during testing, this season threw everything at us. But in the end, our persistence paid off.” – Andrew Truong, Team Captain 

The team hopes to place in the top twenty-five teams at Nationals so they can get invitations to participate in NASA’s Student Launch initiative to continue their exploration of rocketry with high-powered rockets and challenging mission parameters. 

Thank you to LUNAR Livermore Unit of the National Association of Rocketry for their support, mentorship, and willingness to assist which made a significant difference for all local ARC teams. Unpredictable weather made launch opportunities scarce, LUNAR went above & beyond to organize additional launch dates and stayed until the last launch. We’re also grateful to Orvis Cattle Co. for providing land for launches. Thank you LUNAR & Orvis for being such an essential part of our story and success!