Science students at Northwest High School have accepted a mission: building a rocket that will fly a mile high.

A team from the school is among 37 groups from middle schools, high schools and colleges nationwide challenged to design, build, test, launch and recover a rocket capable of reaching an altitude of 5,280 feet.

Northwest High was invited to submit a project proposal for NASA’s Student Launch Initiative because it placed in the top 20 at the Team America Rocketry Challenge national finals last year in Virginia. NASA engineers approved the school’s preliminary rocket design, and the team is under a $3,700 contract with the federal agency, said Northwest teacher Wayne Day, a team co-sponsor.

The team faces tight deadlines to get the high-powered rocket ready for a test flight in mid-March.

"There is a little bit of pressure considering we are contracted with NASA and knowing that we’re being able to create this from scratch," said senior Jacob Escobedo, 18, of Roanoke.

The team meets after school and is first building a half-scale model that members expect to test Saturday in Frisco, said Day, an engineering and multimedia teacher.

The rocket will be 90 inches long, and the design plan includes four fins, video cameras to record the flight, parachutes to help it return to earth, and GPS tracking to locate it. The rocket will also carry a terrarium of live ladybugs as part of an experiment on effects of the launch, Day said.

The NASA initiative started in 2001 to help inspire students interested in science, technology, engineering and math. The college event is a competition with a $5,000 top prize, but the program for secondary students is not a contest.

Northwest High’s team has created a Web site about the project and plans to hold workshops on model rocketry for middle school students in the district, Day said.

In addition to Northwest High’s team, groups from secondary schools in Houston, Presidio and San Antonio are signed up to submit projects. In April, teams will go to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for a design review with NASA engineers and launch their rockets at Bragg Farms in Toney, Ala.