Национальная Ассоциация Ракетомоделистов США: Структура и Деятельность

U. S. nonprofit organization
The NAR is a recognized national authority for performance and reliability certification of consumer rocket motors and for the certification of high power rocket fliers in the U. S. The NAR is the author of a Model Rocket Safety Code for consumer model rocketry and a High Power Rocket Safety Code for high power sport rocketry that are recognized and accepted by manufacturers and public safety officials nationwide. The NAR plays a strong role in the establishment of national rocketry safety standards for public safety officials through its participation in the National Fire Protection Association.

The NAR is governed by a board of trustees consisting of nine senior members (age 21 and over) of the NAR, elected by vote of members age 16 and older. Trustees serve for terms of three years, with three of the nine positions coming up for election each year. The president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer of the NAR are elected by the board from within these nine. The president serves as the chief operating officer on a day to day basis and is authorized to transact the NAR's business as directed by the board of trustees and in accordance with the NAR's by laws. The NAR board meets twice per year, just before NARCON in the late winter and NARAM in midsummer. These meetings provide direction to the president, establish the NAR's policies, and oversee its finances. In between board meetings, a board approved executive committee of three trustees is empowered to act in the stead of the board, subject to ratification of any actions by the board at its next meeting.

The NAR Scholarship program was announced at NARAM 43 in 2001. A limited number of $2000 scholarships are available each year to NAR members between the ages of 17 and 22 who are planning to attend, or are currently enrolled in a college, university or technical school. The number of awards is determined annually by the board of trustees, and scholarships are presented annually at NARAM.

In 2001, the NAR instituted the Robert L. Cannon Educator Award in memory of Bob Cannon, who spent many years at Estes Industries introducing teachers to the potential of model rocketry as a teaching tool. Up to ten $500 grants are provided each year to teachers who use rocketry in their classrooms.

The NAR Rocket Teacher Certification Program (narTcert) is a program to train teachers in the skills to build and fly model rockets and the confidence to lead a rocketry lesson in the classroom. NAR certified teachers are recognized as having been trained by NAR to be qualified to conduct launches, organize rocket programs with hands on STEM lessons for their school, and support the Team America Rocketry Challenge. Certification is open to NAR members who are professional classroom teachers, educators teaching after school programs, home school teachers, or informal educators with youth organizations.

In May 2007 the NAR and 4 H initiated a national partnership to encourage more youth to fly rockets, form rocket clubs and TARC teams, and more young people becoming scientists and engineers. The partnership has been very successful with a 4 H team from Georgetown, Texas winning first place at TARC and becoming the international champions in 2013. The NAR and the Museum of Flight executed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2013 to develop a major sport rocketry exhibit and host the archival collections of G. Harry Stine and Vern and Gleda Estes, key figures in the history of the rocketry hobby. This is the first permanent exhibit exclusively for model rocketry in an American museum, and was dedicated on February 21, 2015. The NAR and the Civil Air Patrol signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2014 to become partners in educational rocketry. The two organizations are exploring ways to provide opportunities for youth and adults to initiate or increase their participation in model rocketry by collaborating on joint activities such as TARC, local rocket contests, science fairs, design challenges, space related activities, sport launches and other related activities. The NAR also provides mentoring, launch services, and technical support for NASA's Student Launch program, which culminates in a launch of experimental payloads on high power rockets near Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama each April.

Any model rocket using a single motor greater than 160 Newton seconds of total impulse, or multiple motors with a total thrust of 320 Newton seconds, is propelled by a combination of motors having a total of more than of propellant weight, or weighs more than with motors installed, is classified as a high power rocket under National Fire Protection Association Standard 1127. The NAR offers a three tier certification program for adult members who wish to build and fly High Power rockets (HPR), as well as a Junior HPR program for NAR members aged 14 through 17.

HPR Level 1 Certification allows the purchase and use of H and I impulse class motors, both solid and hybrid. In addition, certain F and G motors also require Level 1 certification for purchase and use, including hybrid motors, motors designed to emit sparks, and motors that exceed 80 Newtons average thrust, contain 125 or more grams of propellant, or are in rockets weighing more than 1500 grams.

NAR members aged 14 through 17 may earn Junior Level 1 certification by successfully building and flying a high power rocket with an H or I class motor. The principal restriction on Junior Level 1 rocketeers is that an adult must handle, prepare, and install all high power motors.

Level 2 certification allows an individual to purchase and fly J, K, and L class motors. In addition to current NAR membership and Level 1 certification, a rocketeer attempting Level 2 certification must pass a written exam, build the rocket they wish to use for the certification attempt, and successfully fly the rocket with a J, K, or L class motor in the presence of a certification team.

Level 3 certification allows the NAR member to purchase and fly M, N, and O class high power motors. The applicant must submit detailed plans for approval before beginning construction of the rocket, employ electronic deployment of the recovery system (normally a drogue parachute at maximum altitude followed by a main parachute a few hundred feet above the ground), and successfully fly the rocket in the presence of the certification team.

The NAR's National Convention (NARCON) is usually held during the late winter. The three day event includes technical presentations, guest speakers, and a Saturday night banquet, and is often held at a historic destination such as Cape Canaveral or the Museum of Flight.

The National Sport Launch (NSL) is a large, non competitive ("sport") launch, normally held over Memorial Day weekend. NSL attracts hundreds of participants of all ages, who fly rockets of all sizes and motor classes. Certification teams are usually available for rocketeers wishing to attempt high power certification.

The National Association of Rocketry Annual Meet (NARAM) is the NAR's annual model rocketry championship. NARAM is normally held during late July or early August at a site large enough for simultaneous competition, sport, and high power rocket flights. The first NARAM was held in 1959, two years after the NAR was formed. Historically, NARAM was rooted in competition and determining national champions. Today, NARAM may include an FAI Spacemodeling Team flyoff (meant to select a team of competitors who represent the US at a world level competition); a sport flying range featuring model and high power rockets, an auction to support scholarship and education funds, research and development presentations, and a closing banquet where performance awards are given out. The competition component at NARAM is now the culmination of a preseason of flying under the National Rocketry Competition (NRC) a new competition format that is simpler, less expensive, and designed to allow young members easier access to the joys of competition.

Sport Rocketry is the official journal of the National Association of Rocketry. Sport Rocketry is the longest continually published magazine devoted to the sport rocket hobby. It is published bi monthly and features regional launch coverage, construction and technical articles, rocket plans, scale data, competition tips, and product reviews.

The Electronic Rocketeer is a monthly online publication edited by the NAR president. A typical issue may include breaking news, a safety note, and links to popular pages on the NAR's website.

The Model Rocketeer is a 6 10 page newsletter published in the spring of each year. It contains a brief article from the NAR president, biographies of the year's candidates for the board of trustees, and a mail in ballot for the Trustee Election.

The NAR Member Guidebook is sent to everyone who joins the NAR or renews their membership. It contains technical tips for beginning, intermediate, and advanced rocketeers, as well as an introduction to NAR's insurance policy and member services. It is updated every two years.

The Educator's Newsletter is a bi monthly electronic publication for K 12 teachers. Topics include curriculum suggestions, aerospace history, TARC guidance, and other rocketry related information of interest to the classroom teacher.

NAR Technical Services, known as NARTS, offers rocketry related items that are difficult to find or exclusive to the NAR. NARTS offerings include technical publications, NAR themed clothing, and supplies for running competition meets.

The National Association of Rocketry Training Rocketeers for Experience and Knowledge (NARTREK) is a skill development program consisting of a series of achievement levels in rocketry. NARTREK has three basic achievement levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold), with numerous follow on specialty levels. NARTREK is designed to help a rocketeer progress from basic skills to the ability to design a rocket and accurately predict its performance.

The NARTREK Cadet differs from the standard NARTREK Program in that it is designed specifically for modelers under age 18, and it is open to both members and non members of the NAR. NARTREK Cadet consists of a series of four achievement levels in rocketry, each requiring more skill to complete than the previous one.

State and federal law require all rocket motors to be independently tested before they may be sold in the United States. The NAR Standards and Testing Committee (“S&T”) performs this quality assurance for every individual rocket motor type and classification available to general consumers at its East Coast testing facilities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and its West Coast testing facilities in Hillsboro, Oregon. S&T also re tests each approved motor type every five years to ensure repeatability and help identify creeping degradation in manufacturing or distribution practices. In addition, S&T collects and reduces data from motor malfunction reports sent in by consumers, using this data to trigger special testing of questionable motors and production lots.

NAR membership includes general liability coverage as a membership benefit. This coverage is intended to help protect NAR members from liabilities arising out of NAR sport rocketry activities, including both model and high power rockets. The policy limit is currently $5,000,000 per occurrence, with a $5,000 deductible per bodily injury and property damage claim.

The NAR (along with the Tripoli Rocketry Association, the other major governing body in hobby rocketry) was involved in a nine year lawsuit against the BATFE regarding the status of Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP), the most common composite propellant used in hobby rocketry, as an explosive. The NAR and TRA won the lawsuit in 2009, deregulating APCP.