For four days in April, roughly 1000 Texas teenagers shot for the stars when they launched rockets they designed, built and tested through the Ignite program. Parker Fluid Control Division, manufacturers of solenoid and process control valves, supported the testing of 70 rockets constructed among 40 high schools and has donated pressure relief valves over the past 15 years for Fredericksburg High School’s rocket tests. The third annual Rockets 2010, held 22-25 April, tested the high school rocket scientists’ creations, a culmination of classes in mathematics, aeroscience, chemistry and physics as well as hands-on, team-based design, development and testing of fuel-powered, sky-bound vehicles. About 3-4000 people – students, teachers, supporters and rocket enthusiasts –attended. The annual testing period and celebration was first conceived by Brett Williams, an aerospace teacher at Fredericksburg High School in Fredericksburg, Texas. Williams spent 15 years developing Fredericksburg’s Aerospace Program. Through the project-based program, many of his students found inspiration and the confidence to pursue careers in various fields of engineering from aerospace to nuclear.