Media Contact:
Marissa Lewis, Marketing Coordinator
(918) 549-2856, mlewis@cmn.edu
On April 27, 2023, The College of the Muscogee Nation’s (CMN) Rocket Team, Hotvle Totkv (Wind Fire), travelled to Kenosha, Wisconsin to compete in the 14th Annual First Nations Launch High Power Rocket Competition. The competition provides students attending Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Native American-Serving Nontribal Institution (NASNTI) or members of a collegiate chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) an opportunity to design, build and fly a high-powered rocket. This competition also exposes students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The Hotvle Totkv team was selected to participate in the highly competitive competition by the NASA Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium in January 2023. Aiyanna Tanyan was named the CMN Team Lead and the Team Sponsors were CMN Instructors, Cindi Wood and Cynthia Sanders. Prior to the competition, students participated in Zoom meetings, submitted proposals and preliminary rocket designs. In addition, students were required to learn a simulation program called Rock Sim.
The Gateway Challenge is an Entry Level competition, which focuses on being safe and completing the selection, simulation and procurement. The rocket flight should also reach an apogee of 2500′ AGL. During the 3 day competition, CMN students Aiyanna Tanyan and Destiny Jennings surpassed expectations. They successfully designed, built, launched and landed a high-powered rocket that soared over half a mile high, 2980′ AGL! Next year, the team plans to compete in the next level rocket competition called Moon Challenge.
The College of the Muscogee Nation would like to say, Congratulations, to the Hotvle Totkv team. We look forward to the next rocket launch.
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The College of the Muscogee Nation is Oklahoma’s premier tribal college offering exemplary academic degree programs and student services preparing leaders in tribal and non-tribal sectors.