By Ferenc Somogyi ‘21
A passion for the future drives this club forward. A desire to understand and experience the unknown permeates its members. For ASTRA, the Saint Ignatius Aerospace Club, the sky is only the beginning.
Started last February by three current juniors – Ferenc Somogyi ’21, Managing Director, Luke Chesney ’21, Director of Internal Affairs, and Connor Hack ’21, Director of External Affairs – the aerospace club seeks to teach and inspire a love for air and space in Saint Ignatius students. In fact, the name of the club, ASTRA, means “star” in Latin and symbolizes the final frontier which the club wishes to explore.
This year, ASTRA plans to host a variety of activities and seminars for its members. These include hands-on aerospace themed lab, engineering, and science activities, visiting aerospace facilities in and around Cleveland, hearing from aerospace professionals, and working on aerospace projects and research with those in the field. Important to the club is to cover all parts of aerospace,
including aeronautics, astronautics, astronomy, astrophysics, and space biology and chemistry. Under the direction of longtime AP Physics teacher Mr. Jerry DeCarlo, the club hopes to apply academic concepts to real-world, enjoyable aerospace applications. At the first practical meeting of club on Thursday, September 5, for example, the club used flight simulators, designed paper airplanes, and discussed the forces of flight and other basic aeronautics.
The club meets on Thursdays after school in room 101 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm. All grade levels are welcome to attend. Contact the above students or Mr. DeCarlo for details. Come explore the stars with ASTRA!
