A rocketry club from California won't attend a prestigious NASAcompetition due to their home state's ban against publicly funded travel to Alabama.

The Citrus College Rocket Owls were one of 60 school teams invited to Huntsville to compete in NASA Student Launch Program in April. Groups from 23 states are competing in the 18th annual event in which teams design, build, test and fly a high-altitude reusable rocket.

Despite their invite, Citrus College, a community college located outside Los Angeles, won't be attending. Last year, California announced it was banning publicly funded travel to Alabama and seven other states due to laws that could discriminate against the LGBTQ community. In Alabama's case, it was a law that allows adoption agencies to follow faith-based policies, which includes not placing children with same-sex couples.

"The college stands with the State Chancellor, the Legislature and the Governor in support of AB 1887 as a response against discrimination. As an alternative, the Rocket Owls will be participating in a rocket competition sponsored by Friends of Amateur Rocketry/Mars Society to be held in Mojave, California."

The change isn't enough for some, however. Citrus College math professor Paul Swatzel said he's donating $500 towards effort to provide private funding for the Alabama trip.



"To be an undergraduate, even more a community college student, to do something like this alongside Ivy League schools and top four-year schools across the country is quite an experience," Swatzel told the Citrus College Clarion.

The Rocket Owl's dilemma has also attracted the attention of famed "October Sky" author Homer Hickam, a former NASA engineer.

Despite the ban, team members said they will continue their work with a goal of meeting all contest goals save the final launch.

"The team will still hold an "official" launch in Southern California but will not be able to receive any points for the launch itself. This will effectively take the team out of the running for a Top 5 ranking in the competition, a tradition consistently held by the Rocket Owls throughout its lifetime," the team said in a statement.

"The team knows that the true reward of the NASA Student Launch is the work put into the competition; the reports, the presentations, the construction, and the launches are all experiences that have fostered the team's skills and have contributed to their academic and professional development," it added.

Only one other community college, Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been invited to attend. Two other California schools - UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley - are planning to attend the event, relying on private funding. Cal Poly Pomona's team will also be attending but using non-state funding for the trip, university officials said.

Update: Corrected March 16, 3:58 p.m. to reflect Cal Poly Pomona will be attending the event.