Canon EOS 5D
ƒ/4.5
100 mm
1/5,000
400

sponsored by Wildman Rocketry at LDRS27 in Argonia, Kansas.

It’s a rare treat to see them all roar off the pad at the same time, and then spiral around like Keystone Cops. The sparky green one went into a death spiral and crashed into the farm dirt near me. (Since these are all the same rocket kit, I suspect the difference in flight dynamics derive from differences in nose cone weight.)

This is one bank of rockets; there was a second bank off to the left launched at the same time.

20 responses to “Great Gizmo Race”

  1. I guess it’d be prissy of me to comment on how dangerous it all looks?

  2. heh, and from the heet myser no less! Guess what the D stands for in LDRS?…

    I’d rate this launch as a very low threat alert. BALLS takes the cake. Here is a fun little video where a rocket about my size arches up and over my head (that’s Erik and me on the playa at the end of video =)

  3. I can almost hear Erik saying, "I got it! I got it! I got…" in that video. Do you just turn to each other after something like that and say, "Holy sh*t!?"

  4. yeah… and some primitive Beavis & Butthead grunts

  5. Here is a reaction from a woman’s point of view. I think it is exciting to see a few go up at a time. They make a beautiful design in the photo and no doubt at all phases in the air. It reminds me that life has potential.

  6. The multiple launch is fun! ..& love the re-entry ‘scream’ in the video
    Thought you might enjoy this, if you haven’t seen it.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3iryBLZCOQ

  7. Heh… surviving a near miss also reminds you that life has potential. 😉

  8. Beautiful. Wonder what this might look like as a "dark edit" or "asking the camera -1.5 EV exposure"

  9. Funny thing… that’s how I took the photo, but then I bumped the brightness! I just reloaded it with the exposure back down.

    msamaclean: I had not seen that yet. thanks. I always wondered why dark matter gets such a bad rap…

  10. It looks even better and I added it as a favourite.

  11. AHh, the little orage and black one…. Right in the middle….
    Failed ejection… came in ballistic at the registration booth.. (my wife and son were under it to…) I stepped out of the booth, looked up to find it…and smoke from the launch poured in (realized i would never see it).. I took 3 steps and BAM…it hit right where i had been standing….about 6 feet from my son.(which i was covering)…i would say the suckiest launch of the event…(but good pic of it…)

  12. After impact it wasn’t quite ""Holy sh*t!?""….
    more like "AM I HIT!?!?!?"

  13. Amazing shot!
    Congratulations on Explore

  14. Very nice!!! I’ve been at LDRS30 this weekend.
    I got a fairly decent of a sparky motor drag race.

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