A group of high school students from across the Rio Grande Valley built a 12-foot rocket and plan to launch it this weekend in Hearne, near Central Texas.

The students are part of Launchpad, a team of 15 high school students from different school districts who share a passion for engineering, science, and space. They showcased the rocket at the Brownsville Public Library, giving the community a first look before launch.

"Once you get in that mindset, you can do amazing stuff like this rocket," Launchpad member and IDEA Brownsville graduate Rayyan Farooqui said.

Farooqui and Julio Perez, a recent graduate from Los Fresnos High School, help lead the team.

Perez said the idea started when he realized there was no space program available for students like him. He approached his school district but was turned down.

"I wanted to make a change, and I even went to the district that I was in. Unfortunately, they said no. But so I said, 'OK, you know what? I want to go through and start with this,'" Perez said.

That decision led him to the South Texas Astronomical Society, a Brownsville-based nonprofit that helped connect students with sponsors, resources, and mentors to build the rocket from the ground up.

"He came to us, and he was very interested in rocketry and engineering," South Texas Astronomical Society President Victor De Los Santos said.

De Los Santos said many of these students don't have an aerospace pathway at their schools, so the program fills that gap.

"A lot of them did not have that aerospace pathway, and a lot of them actually mentioned that it's something that they didn't see a value in in the Valley, or in the county specifically,” De Los Santos said. “So he wanted to build a rocket, and we tried to find him the resources for that.”

The team spent eight months designing, building and testing every part of the rocket.

The South Texas Astronomical Society says the group will be the first high school team from the Valley to launch an L3 rocket.

"Just yesterday we were here 12 hours working on this rocket, just getting it prepared for this week, and we know it's crunch time, and seeing that is one satisfying thing to see," Perez said.

On Saturday, the team will travel to Hearne for liftoff.

"It's definitely been a fun process seeing everyone doing their work and so many skilled students in the team," Perez said. "We hope to continue that in college and even in the future in our careers."

Watch the video above for the full story.