Longfellow Middle School is among the 101 national finalists in the Team America Rocketry Challenge, sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association. The students will compete against other middle and high school-aged teams at the National Finals, taking place at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia on May 18. In addition to competing for a total of $100,000 in prizes, the winner of the National Finals will advance to the International Rocketry Challenge, taking place in Paris, France in June. The top 20 finishers will earn a spot in next year’s NASA Student Launch competition.

Longfellow is among 830 teams that entered the competition from 46 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The competition, which is this year honoring the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, requires a team to launch a rocket carrying three raw eggs that must reach an altitude of at least 856 feet before separating and returning the uncracked eggs to earth — all within 43 and 46 seconds and with strict height and weight requirements.