Middle school students will get to see their satellite launched into space. Author: Vinay Simlot Updated: 2:47 PM EDT June 2, 2021
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. After five years of work, Robertsville Middle School students will get to see their satellite blast off into space.
RamSat, a nanosatellite designed and built by students, is expected to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday. 50 middle schoolers who worked on RamSat traveled to Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday to watch the launch. I’m just excited to see the project come to life, said Sam Livesay, one of the first students to work on the project.
Oak Ridge Schools’ Volunteers of the Year chosen: The Luttrells
Oakridger
At a recent meeting, the Oak Ridge Board of Education unanimously chose Coach Robert Luttrell and his wife Claire Luttrell as Volunteers of the Year for Oak Ridge Schools.
The school system previously honored them as Volunteers of the Month in February.
“A giant thank you goes out to Volunteers of the Month, Claire and Robert Luttrell for their dedication to the students at Robertsville Middle School, especially working with our Lady Rams in both athletics and academics,” the school system stated on Twitter.
They like other volunteers honored at monthly Oak Ridge school board meetings, were nominated by their respective schools. They could get a chance at even further recognition. At the end of the school year and into the next school year, the Tennessee School Boards Association will recognize a Volunteer of the Year out of each district. In turn, any of the district volunteers could be selected for
Not every kid in America gets this opportunity. This is always something that I m going to take with me throughout life, Adler Keehn said.
The group of students and faculty have worked with NASA to get their project ready over the past several years.
The students have helped to build a satellite that will be launched via SpaceX in early June.
Not only has RamSat helped a hard-working group of students learn about science and technology, but it will also help scientists learn more about East Tennessee. It is intended to study the foliage growth in the Gatlinburg area from the fires several years ago, said Patrick Hull, a former Oak Ridge student and current NASA aerospace engineer.