A 12-YEAR-OLD boy has raised £580 for charity by building, and launching, his very own rocket.
Logan Workman, who wants to be a space engineer when he’s older, was inspired to raise money for charity when his mother was diagnosed with cancer last year.
Dad Richard said: “Last year, Logan and I started to build a rocket, but just after we started, Carla got diagnosed.
“She had a full hysterectomy in the 2020 firebreak.”
Following Carla’s treatment, Logan, who attends Ysgol Ardudwy in Harlech, and dad Richard got back to work building the rocket.
Called ‘Cancer Sucks’, Logan let people put the names of family and friends who have died, or are being treated or have survived cancer on the rocket.
Richard said: “He launched the ‘CancerSucks’ rocket after school on Monday, 17 January, and what a flight!
“It went straight up to 1700ft and was a perfect recovery!”
Richard advertised the launch on Facebook where people could donate to the charity, Joe’s Cervical Cancer.
“He says a big thank you to everyone that has donated to Joe’s Cervical Cancer,” Richard said.
“He’s raised £580 for them.
“We were lucky with Carla, as the second wave had just started when she got diagnosed, and treated very fast, at Bangor Hospital.”
Logan said: “Since watching launches of the SpaceX rockets when I was seven on YouTube, I have wanted to work building the rockets that go into space.
“We started building this one before mum found out she had to have an operation for cancer cells, so we stopped.
“We carried on building it after the op, and named it ‘CancerSucks’, letting people know it sucks to have cancer, but also showing people that any day lives can change immediately with cancer.
“Letting people have names on the rocket [of people] who have been affected by cancer was cool; it showed how many have been through what I have been. The money raised from the launch will hopefully help the charity.”
Richard added: “Logan wants to work at SpaceX when he’s older, but due to the US laws governing working with ballistic missiles, i.e. rockets in the US, he has to be a US citizen.
“He doesn’t want to go to space, he wants to be the person who builds the rockets.”
A TikTok video about Logan’s rocket can be found at https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLd2oud3/