What: When some 350 young rocketeers gather April 17-18 for the annual NASA Student Launch Projects rocketry challenge, their sophisticated engineering marvels will thunder skyward live on the Internet for the first time. Ustream — a one-stop shop for video, Twitter and Facebook updates — will carry live coverage of the launch challenge each day: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/marshall-space-flight-center

Coverage will include live streaming video from the launch site, plus real-time launch news and altitude reports for each team’s rocket via Twitter (hashtags: #SLP and #STEM), which can be viewed directly at: http://twitter.com/SLI_1MILEHIGH

Facebookers can track event highlights at: http://www.facebook.com/nasastudentlaunch

Thirty-two student teams representing middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities nationwide will launch their rockets, complete with a working science payload of their own design, to an altitude of 1 mile.

NASA Student Launch Projects are organized each year by the Academic Affairs Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The project receives corporate sponsorship from ATK Aerospace Systems of Magna, Utah, which presents the first-place winner of the college division with a $5,000 check. NASA Student Launch Projects are sponsored by NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Space Operations Mission Directorate and the Education Flight Projects Office in NASA’s Office of Education. Launch support is provided to NASA by the National Association of Rocketry.

When & Where: College and university teams will launch their rockets Saturday, April 17. Middle school and high school rocketeers will launch Sunday, April 18. The launch window will open each day at 10 a.m. CDT. The event will be held at Bragg Farms in Toney, Ala. Directions are available here: http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/436692main_SLI_Brochure.pdf

To attend: News media interested in covering the events should contact the Marshall Public & Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, April 15. To attend the rocket fair, media must report to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center at Gate 9, Interstate 565 interchange at Rideout Road/Research Park Boulevard. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate. News media will need two photo identifications and proof of car insurance. Visitor parking is available in front of Building 4200 on the southwest side.

For more information about NASA Student Launch Projects and links to a complete list of participating schools, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2009/09-100.html