科学美国人60秒:Texas Teens Take Rocket Title

This story is not about space, exactly. But it is about rockets—the model kind—and the kids who may grow up to launch the real thing into space someday.

A trio of teenage Texas model rocketeers beat out teams from France and the U.K. to claim top honors at this year’s International Rocketry Competition. The U.S. team, from a 4-H club in Georgetown, Texas, won the June 21st fly-off at the Paris Air Show. They earned their spot in the international showdown by besting 99 other American teams.

The contest required rocket kids to send a raw egg into the sky, as close to 750 feet altitude as possible, in a flight lasting between 48 and 50 seconds—and bring the egg safely back to earth. Brothers Mark and Matthew Janecka and their teammate Daniel Kelton won the international contest with a flight that only peaked at 703 feet, but lasted a textbook 49.18 seconds.

After the competition the Texas teens got to meet with French president Francois Hollande. The president wore a dark suit and tie, and the boys from Texas wore windbreakers and cowboy hats. Fitting for space cowboys.

—John Matson