AeroPAC's XPRS III launch meet, Sept 23-26, 2004

ian.kluft.com / xprs2004 /
AeroPAC's late-summer launch meet each year at Nevada's Black Rock Desert is called XPRS, which stands for eXtreme Performance Rocket Ships.
img_2626.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:44:40Erik picks up the nose cone of his rocket.


img_2627.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:48:38I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa. I'm demonstrating one of Stratofox's methods of searching on the playa. The principle behind this is simple - every foot off the ground that you raise your point of view vastly increases the distance you can see without interference from the mirage.


img_2628.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:48:41I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2629.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:48:51I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2630.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:48:53I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2631.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:49:01I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2632.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:49:05I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2633.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:49:13I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2634.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:49:16I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2635.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:49:22I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2636.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:49:24I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2637.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:49:43I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2638.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:49:53I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2639.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:49:58I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2640.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:50:02I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2641.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:50:06I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2642.jpg - 2004:09:24 10:50:10I'm standing on my truck looking to see if we can find any of the ARLISS payloads driving on the playa.


img_2643.jpg - 2004:09:24 12:28:11During my 2-hour shift as Launch Control Officer on Friday, I didn't get many chances to take pictures. But one of the pictures I took was after I handed the microphone to a student to tell everyone what he was flying on an ARLISS rocket.


img_2644.jpg - 2004:09:24 12:56:09This model rocket lost a fin and landed nose first. While it may seem silly to some readers, this is part of the learning process. This rocketeer got his rocket back and then could figure out what went wrong in order to improve in the future.


img_2645.jpg - 2004:09:24 13:00:37A student reads from a script that she wrote and describes her payload aboard an ARLISS rocket which is about to be launched. Like the other students, this is her moment in the spotlight for which she travelled all the way from Japan to Black Rock.


img_2646.jpg - 2004:09:24 13:06:13The ARLISS rocket lifts off from Pad C.


img_2647.jpg - 2004:09:24 13:06:14The ARLISS rocket climbs.


img_2648.jpg - 2004:09:24 13:06:16The ARLISS rocket climbs.


img_2649.jpg - 2004:09:24 13:06:16The ARLISS rocket climbs.


img_2650.jpg - 2004:09:24 13:06:18The ARLISS rocket climbs.


img_2651.jpg - 2004:09:24 13:36:28Jim Green supervises as excited students help carry an ARLISS rocket which he built up to the Range Safety Officer's table. At this point, Owen DeLong (far left) is serving a 2-hour shift as RSO.


img_2652.jpg - 2004:09:24 13:38:41Having been through the Range Safety Officer's inspection and then assigned a launch pad, students who have payloads aboard Jim Green's ARLISS rocket help to carry it into the range.


img_2653.jpg - 2004:09:24 14:06:01A student described his university's payloads flying aboard this rocket.


img_2654.jpg - 2004:09:24 15:06:04An ARLISS rocket lifts off carrying more student payloads.


img_2655.jpg - 2004:09:24 15:06:07The ARLISS rocket climbs.


img_2656.jpg - 2004:09:24 15:43:17A large rocket lifts off from Pad A.


img_2657.jpg - 2004:09:24 15:43:19The large rocket from the previous picture continues to climb.


img_2658.jpg - 2004:09:24 15:43:21The large rocket's motor burns out and continues coasting past the end of its smoke trail. This is normal.


img_2659.jpg - 2004:09:24 16:17:59A large rocket lifts off from the 1500-foot pad.


img_2660.jpg - 2004:09:24 16:18:00A large rocket lifts off from the 1500-foot pad.


img_2661.jpg - 2004:09:24 16:18:01The large rocket from the previous photo climbs.


img_2662.jpg - 2004:09:24 16:18:02The large rocket from the previous photo climbs.


img_2663.jpg - 2004:09:24 16:18:05The large rocket from the previous photo airstarts its second stage.


img_2666.jpg - 2004:09:24 16:21:13This rocket landed close to our camp. We had been watching it and stepped away.


img_2667.jpg - 2004:09:24 16:21:49The owner of the rocket soon came to pick it up.


Indexed by Apache::Gallery

All pages and images on this site are copyright (c) Ian Kluft unless explicitly indicated otherwise