Big Bada Boom! This was rocket #2 of 3 and it was meant to be a two-stage flight to 275K ft. So… it was an attempt to reach the edge of space, as Branson likes to call it. π
Table on the right for a sense of scale. This solid R17000 made a dramatic fiery boom, sending the M-motor sustainer stage skyward, and good programming kept it from igniting from the premature stage separation.
In 15 years of attending the BALLS Research Rocketry Launch with my son, the largest engine size attempted was an “R” motor, and this weekend, we had three of them at the same time out at the away pads. I was able to get especially close as an event photographer. The two 10″-diameter solid propellant rockets went first, but failed right after ignition.
Catching these flinch moments in focus takes a bit of luck and lot of practice. But this one made me gasp.
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