Flying high over the playa… a great view from above (more below).
Our fiberglass and carbon fiber DroneDeploy rocket screamed to 13,000 ft. and Mach 1 over the Black Rock Desert at BALLS 27.
The on-board video camera caught the whole flight, with a nice view over the playa, but the asymmetry on the airframe induced a bit of a spin on the ascent. Video
Rising up, with the flight line of camps and RVs below:
Apogee event – popping the airframe in half, right before the parachute comes unfurls:
and then the chute pops out as the flight computer detects apogee (from the barometric sensor noticing the end of vertical ascent):
The video cam caught the moment of landing:
Hitting the playa… a bit harder than planned as the nose cone was attached too securely (for the amount of black powder I used to dislodge it), and the main parachute did not come out, but rocket is pretty bullet proof and was unharmed) 
And the joy of recovery! Unharmed and ready to fly again: 
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