Burp!

After coming up to pressure, 1.6 seconds after ignition (per my camera’s frame rate), the solid graphite nozzle of the P-motor cracked in half, some propellant grains spewed out in fractured chunks and rained down all around us, others streaked upward as free-flying fireballs, and some remained as low-thrust end-burners as the rocket smoked upward.

But, with an amazing stroke of robust design and luck, the P-Ref airframe spun horizontally as it fell back to the playa, rather than returning ballistic. So everything was recovered with minimal damage, and the two bent metal fins could have been replaced in minutes, since they have brackets that they bolt into, and ready to fly again (a key parameter of the Mavericks competition).

For a sense of scale and the beauty of this composite rocket pre-painting, I’ll post an image below in the comments.