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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With Jay Apt

Aired May 10, 2003 - 09:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: It's almost like a modern-day scene out of the movie "October Sky," only this contest is real, and it is so -- so are the rocket, the rocket science, that's right.
Astronaut Jay Apt is in the Plains, Virginia, this morning, ready to take us through a national rocket contest in which students show exactly what they know about going beyond the surly bounds of earth.

All right, Jay, good morning, first of all. I know it is raining there, so we're going to get to the shoot off some of those rockets a little bit later.

But first of all, tell me your involvement in this contest, Jay.

JAY APT, ASTRONAUT: I have been involved with model rocketry for about 40 years, and it got me started in my space career, just like it's starting these hundred teams, you know, those 9,000 kids who've been part of this. And they're competing for almost $70,000 in scholarship money.

So it really is like "October Sky." These kids just filled a high school auditorium here last night. They're tremendously enthusiastic about what they're doing. Their complex engineering skills are fabulous. These rocket boys and rocket girls are all going to compete here today, sending up their rockets into this sky right near Washington, D.C. They're having a fabulous time.

NEVILLE: So, Jay, now what's the criteria, how do you make it to this point?

APT: They've had to construct -- and there were 850 teams that have competed to this point to design and construct a model rocket that can carry two hen's eggs about this big up to 1,500 feet. They've each got an altimeter on board that reads out the altitude. The closest to get to 1,500 feet and return to on a parachute the eggs, very gently, so they don't break, they win.

They have all had qualified flights. And out of the hundreds of teams, there are 100 top competitors here today.

NEVILLE: All right, Jay. We've talked about these rockets enough. I need to see some action here. So let's get a launch going here. What are we going to see.

APT: Let's go. Five, four, three, two, one, launch!

NEVILLE: That's pretty impressive.

APT: You bet it is.

These models are all recoverable and reflyable. They use factory-made propellants, engines that people have proven out for 40 years. It is just the most fabulous hobby to get people into these technical fields.

And I'll tell you what, of the people that I knew when I was growing up who were doing model rocketry, all of them ended up contributing tremendously to this country. Some of them ended up in the space program.

On the first of my four flights, there were a couple of us that had done model rockets extensively in high school. On every one of my flights, there were people who had flown model rockets. So it really does get people into the aerospace industry.

Speaking of the aerospace industry, one of the two sponsors here, the Aerospace Industry Association of America, is giving the prizes. The organization is provided by the National Association of Rocketry, whose logo I am wearing today. They're just great organizations.

NEVILLE: Indeed.

Now, Jay, I want to see some more. I need more of those rockets blasting off. Do you have another one for us?

APT: We sure do. Let me show you one more. Five, four, three, two, one, launch!

NEVILLE: Blast off!

APT: And we'll be doing that all day here, just right outside Washington, D.C. These kids and their teams, all high school kids, have done just a wonderful piece of engineering. They use computer skills to predict what the altitude the rockets are going to go to, because they have to make that 1,500 feet. And so they do a simulation on the computer, then they launch several times to verify the simulations. They develop all the techniques to do this reliably many, many times.

And then they come here and compete, and they are pumped. These kids are really excited.

NEVILLE: And so how many launches are you going to have today?

APT: There are 100 teams here today, and they'll all be launching once. If they have some catastrophic failure, the eggs can't be returned because it landed in a tree, something like that, they get a second chance. So we'll be launching just over 100 models today.

NEVILLE: Jay Apt, thank you very much. Very, very interesting. Thank you so much for joining us here this morning.

APT: You're very welcome.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired May 10, 2003 - 09:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: It's almost like a modern-day scene out of the movie "October Sky," only this contest is real, and it is so -- so are the rocket, the rocket science, that's right.
Astronaut Jay Apt is in the Plains, Virginia, this morning, ready to take us through a national rocket contest in which students show exactly what they know about going beyond the surly bounds of earth.

All right, Jay, good morning, first of all. I know it is raining there, so we're going to get to the shoot off some of those rockets a little bit later.

But first of all, tell me your involvement in this contest, Jay.

JAY APT, ASTRONAUT: I have been involved with model rocketry for about 40 years, and it got me started in my space career, just like it's starting these hundred teams, you know, those 9,000 kids who've been part of this. And they're competing for almost $70,000 in scholarship money.

So it really is like "October Sky." These kids just filled a high school auditorium here last night. They're tremendously enthusiastic about what they're doing. Their complex engineering skills are fabulous. These rocket boys and rocket girls are all going to compete here today, sending up their rockets into this sky right near Washington, D.C. They're having a fabulous time.

NEVILLE: So, Jay, now what's the criteria, how do you make it to this point?

APT: They've had to construct -- and there were 850 teams that have competed to this point to design and construct a model rocket that can carry two hen's eggs about this big up to 1,500 feet. They've each got an altimeter on board that reads out the altitude. The closest to get to 1,500 feet and return to on a parachute the eggs, very gently, so they don't break, they win.

They have all had qualified flights. And out of the hundreds of teams, there are 100 top competitors here today.

NEVILLE: All right, Jay. We've talked about these rockets enough. I need to see some action here. So let's get a launch going here. What are we going to see.

APT: Let's go. Five, four, three, two, one, launch!

NEVILLE: That's pretty impressive.

APT: You bet it is.

These models are all recoverable and reflyable. They use factory-made propellants, engines that people have proven out for 40 years. It is just the most fabulous hobby to get people into these technical fields.

And I'll tell you what, of the people that I knew when I was growing up who were doing model rocketry, all of them ended up contributing tremendously to this country. Some of them ended up in the space program.

On the first of my four flights, there were a couple of us that had done model rockets extensively in high school. On every one of my flights, there were people who had flown model rockets. So it really does get people into the aerospace industry.

Speaking of the aerospace industry, one of the two sponsors here, the Aerospace Industry Association of America, is giving the prizes. The organization is provided by the National Association of Rocketry, whose logo I am wearing today. They're just great organizations.

NEVILLE: Indeed.

Now, Jay, I want to see some more. I need more of those rockets blasting off. Do you have another one for us?

APT: We sure do. Let me show you one more. Five, four, three, two, one, launch!

NEVILLE: Blast off!

APT: And we'll be doing that all day here, just right outside Washington, D.C. These kids and their teams, all high school kids, have done just a wonderful piece of engineering. They use computer skills to predict what the altitude the rockets are going to go to, because they have to make that 1,500 feet. And so they do a simulation on the computer, then they launch several times to verify the simulations. They develop all the techniques to do this reliably many, many times.

And then they come here and compete, and they are pumped. These kids are really excited.

NEVILLE: And so how many launches are you going to have today?

APT: There are 100 teams here today, and they'll all be launching once. If they have some catastrophic failure, the eggs can't be returned because it landed in a tree, something like that, they get a second chance. So we'll be launching just over 100 models today.

NEVILLE: Jay Apt, thank you very much. Very, very interesting. Thank you so much for joining us here this morning.

APT: You're very welcome.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com