These days, with Sony having to constantly reprove themselves to consumers and the media alike, they are more than ever needing to inspire younger groups of people to see Sony as a company that is capable of doing great things, and it can’t be argued, that just as President Kennedy did in the 60′s with the launching of the Apollo Program, Sony is attempting to capture some of that same spirit of exploration with their Rocket Project.

In their promotions, Sony has asked the question, can 10 students using Vaio notebook computers design, simulate, build, and launch a rocket?

While the answer to the question of, can they do it, is obviously yes, the idea that all of the steps can be performed by high school students on a limited budget, with limited time, and little to no prior training is really the part of the project that makes it of interest to the public and captures the imagination.

Also, with the victory of the SpaceShipOne team claiming the X Prize space competition a few years ago, and the more recent announcement by the Obama administration that the United States space program will be increasingly reliant upon commercial endeavors to continue building upon our tradition of space exploration once the shuttle fleet has been mothballed later in the year, these kids and their rocket project could be the next generation of space explorers in another few years, and that’s just inspirational.

Currently, the launch is on weatherhold, but you can follow the launch through completion here.