A Rocket Built by Students Reached Space for the First Time
b'In the early morning of April 21, 10 students from the University of Southern California\\u2019s Rocket Propulsion Lab piled into the back of a pickup truck with a 13-foot rocket wedged between them and drove down a dusty dirt road to a launchpad near Spaceport America, in southern New Mexico. When they arrived, their teammates helped them lift the 300-pound rocket onto a launch rail. Dennis Smalling, the rocket lab\\u2019s chief engineer, began the countdown at 7:30 am.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices'