Sony VAIO Z series review

Deep in the Nevada desert something stratospherically exciting is happening.

Today is launch day for The Rocket Project; this is not NASA’s latest adventure but a stunning collaboration between a rocket expert, eight of the brightest and most brilliant American high-school students, and Sony VAIO, to put a rocket into atmosphere.

The project was sparked from the idea that “the first rocket to land on the moon had less computing power” than the CPUs in modern laptops. It led to Sony getting together with Tom Atchison, the founder of Mavericks Civilian Space Foundation, which aims to enable civilian space research, to act as a mentor for the students.

Tom (pictured below) is a specialist in “airframe aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, composite materials, and propulsion and motor ballistics” (literally rocket science).

The eight students all have scientific and engineering backgrounds, but their skills and knowledge were pushed beyond anything they had ever experienced with just 30 days to design, test and build the airframe.

The result is a two-stage rocket that’s 8.8 metres tall, weighs just less than half a metric ton and is capable of reaching a maximum altitude of 528,000 feet.

The Apollo missions had buildings full of computers that are equalled by the processing power of an Intel chip. The VAIOs will be used at every stage – from the first CAD designs to controlling “GPS tracking, telemetry, avionics monitoring and video” on launch day whenever the weather improves.

Computers alone are redundant without the talent and passion of those using them however, and the students are the real heart of this project. Eight students from across the US have bonded and worked as a team, learning rocket science in just 30 days.

Chris, whose free time is dedicated to robotics, leapt at the chance to be involved:

“How many kids get to learn rocket science and be able to actually absorb the information and build a rocket?”

These kids are precocious, but their enthusiasm for science is infectious. “I remember being in second grade and wanting a math book instead of a toy,” Julia says in a team video. “That’s not normal but it’s ok that is why I’m here, my biggest dream is being able to use math to help others; it can be applied to everything.”

“I think rockets are cool because they have the power to leave earth,” she added.

There were struggles along the way from Julia getting Epoxy resin in her hair, to finding a crack in the rocket casing which may still cause problems, but the students fascination with space and the imagination to get a rocket there, has made this project a success.

“I was home schooled so I can think big, I never had my imagination crushed,” says Ian, a Mohawk wearing 16-year-old. “Since I was little I’ve always liked building and designing things, I’ve always wanted to invent things.”

The Apollo program was started in 1960 by JFK as the Cold War arms-race between the US and Soviet Union accelerated. Warning of the “missile gap” between the two superpowers, Kennedy initiated the Apollo program, costing $24 billion, to ensure that the US would be the space superpower (The Rocket Project cost a mere $20,000).

In a speech at Rice University, Texas, on 12th September 1962, Kennedy told the audience:

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

A fitting motto for The Rocket Project.

Image Credit: Sony Electronics – all rights reserved.

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