What happens when 2,000 engineering students from over 20 countries descend on Midland, Texas to launch rockets into the West Texas sky? Cindy Payton sits down with Steve Taylor, president of the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA), to talk about the International Rocket Engineering Competition — known as IREC — and why Midland is at the center of it.Steve shares how a childhood fascination sparked by the Apollo moon landing turned into a lifelong passion and eventually a mission to develop the next generation of aerospace engineers. ESRA, which has been running for over 20 years, is now the largest student rocket competition in the world — and this year's event is coming to Midland.The competition kicks off on June 15 with a free public poster session at the Horseshoe Pavilion, where student teams from around the world display a full year's worth of engineering work. The launch takes place at a site outside of Saragosa in Reeves County, where rockets are fired at altitude targets — with everything from aerospace to electrical engineering to business and multimedia represented on each team. The week of June 15 is the critical window, and volunteers are needed at every level — from runners and merchandise to registration and food service. No rocketry experience required.The award ceremony wraps everything up, drawing 2,000 students hooting and hollering as category winners are announced. The Blake Planetarium will also livestream the launches for those who want to experience it in the air conditioning.Learn more and find out how to get involved at https://esrarocket.orgChapters:0:00 Introduction — Welcome to Good Work West Texas0:54 Meet Steve Taylor — president of ESRA and lifelong rocketry enthusiast1:54 Inspired by Neil Armstrong — and the current race back to the moon3:56 What is ESRA? The history and mission of the organization5:08 Multidisciplinary teams — aerospace, electrical, business, multimedia and more6:27 The world's largest student rocket competition — 170+ universities, 20+ countries7:07 Jay's question: what would you say to a student thinking about getting involved?8:43 ESRA meets with Midland ISD, Midland College, and UTPB — free to attend10:51 IREC comes to Midland — June 15 at the Horseshoe Pavilion, free and open to the public11:37 What the poster session looks like — students explain their projects to visitors12:41 A year-long project — applications in October, safety reviews, technical publications13:44 Learning from failure — the stories that stick with Steve15:18 Teams from Turkey, Australia, UAE, New Zealand — experiencing Texas culture16:38 Midland's hospitality — what sponsors and teams said after last year's event17:15 Jay's question: how many volunteers does it take to pull this off?19:00 The volunteer breakdown — core team, judges, flyers of record, and community roles20:40 What community volunteers actually do — runners, food, merchandise, registration21:29 You don't need to know rocketry to help — Cindy on what she can actually do23:00 Jay's question: what's the one reason a volunteer would never want to leave?24:03 The launch site experience — what it's like to actually be there26:05 Building a space economy alongside oil and gas in Midland27:15 Every Neighbor's mission and what it means to invest in people28:22 Steve on his father's legacy — the origin of his own spirit of giving back29:47 ESRA website and YouTube channel — esrarocket.org30:19 How to participate, volunteer, or donate31:09 The launch site — outside Saragosa in Reeves County, roads and all32:36 The award ceremony — 2,000 students, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat33:03 Closing — thank you Steve Taylor and ESRA
