Well, Philip has returned from his 5 days away in Huntsville, AL, at the NASA rocket event. It wasn't a competition, so I can't call it that. 16 teams went there to launch their rockets and see if they were able to meet their team goals.
Philip's team (3 boys and their sponsor, a local science professor) had a fabulous launch - the rocket went straight and really fast, about 2 miles, he said. But something went wrong with the parachute release, and the descent was not so good. The rocket (6 feet tall) went straight into an Alabama corn field. When the boys went to find it, Philip spotted the red fins of the rocket, sticking out of the soil. They dug for over an hour to get the rocket out and salvage what they could. They retrieved the data chip, and will wait to see what it reveals about the rocket's flight.
All in all, it was a great experience for Philip. He got to spend 3 days at the NASA facility, touring the place and learning about the work there. He is interested in it, and maybe -- who knows -- will look into that field, when he is thinking about engineering in college.
We've had a great visit with Gloria. She'll leave to return home tomorrow. Philip hasn't had much time to visit with her though. It's nice to have him home again. Hopefully, I'll be able to post a couple of pictures of the rocket launch, when he gets them to me.
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