Professor Hudson Hsu of the NPUST Smart Mechatronics Bachelor Degree Program has been instructing a team from the National Experimental High School at Pingtung Science Park (NEHS-PTSP) which has gone on to participate in the 1st Rocket Taiwan Cup. Competing against 56 teams (638 participants), the team had a strong performance and became the only high school team from the Kaohsiung-Pingtung area to advance to the finals. On July 25th they launched their rocket at the Xuhai Launch Site in Pingtung for the first time. Pingtung County Magistrate Chou Chun-mi attended a pre-departure press conference on the 15th and raised a “Space Youth Support Lantern” to cheer on the local NEHS-PTSP team and the 15 teams nationwide who qualified for the finals.
National Experimental High School at Pingtung Science Park (NEHS-PTSP) was established with a focus given to three core areas: space technology, smart agriculture & medicine, and green materials. Enrolling students for the first time in the 2024 academic year, the school offers an elective space technology course for first year high school students. The course was taught by NPUST Smart Mechatronics Bachelor Degree Program professor, Hudson Hsu, and his USR team. The course aslo while draws on resources from NPUST, the R.O.C. Air Force Academy, the Air Force Institute of Technology, Da-Yeh University, Shih Chien University, and the Taiwan Space Center. The high school created a Rocket Club for interested students and formed the team that would ultimately participate in the 1st Rocket Taiwan Cup.
The 1st Rocket Taiwan Cup was inspired by the the renowned Spaceport America Cup in the United States and is the first national competition of the type to be hosted by an Asian country. A total of 638 participants divided amongst 16 college teams and 40 high school teams signed up for the preliminaries with eight college teams and 15 high school team (302 participants) making the first cut. From there, five college teams and 10 high school teams (205 participants) advanced to the finals. All participating teams used solid rocket propulsion systems, with the rocket grains (solid fuel) provided by the organizers. The teams were responsible for designing the rocket system, parachute recovery mechanism, and payload electromechanical components. On the day of the rocket launch, the Pingtung County Government and the Pingtung County Physical Development Center held a rocket themed science fair to coincide with the event. The launch was broadcast live on a large screen, and 12 aerospace-themed science experience booths were set up to give visitors a meaningful experience as the witnessed this historic moment together.
