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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from the left, Leandro James of Systems Hardware Engineering, George Mizell of Quality Assurance, Morgan Simpson of Flight Hardware Processing and Kim Simpson of Fluids, Mechanical and Structural Systems prepare a parachute for a small rocket prior to launch as part of Rocket University. The goal was to test its systems and to verify that it performed as designed. As part of Rocket University, the engineers are given an opportunity to work a fast-track project to develop skills in developing spacecraft systems of the future. As NASA plans for future spaceflight programs to low-Earth orbit and beyond, teams of engineers at Kennedy are gaining experience in designing and flying launch vehicle systems on a small scale. Four teams of five to eight members from Kennedy are designing rockets complete with avionics and recovery systems. Launch operations require coordination with federal agencies, just as they would with rockets launched in support of a NASA mission. Photo credit: NASA_Jim Grossmann