ROCHESTER, Minnesota USA — It started out for many as a childhood hobby, but members of the Tripoli Southern Minnesota rocketry club have taken launching rockets to a higher level.

PARK TOWNSHIP. Michigan USA — Brian Fredrick and Gary Russ think having their home-built rockets break the sound barrier is a blast.

PLEASANT UNITY, Pennsylvania USA — For about 30 years, one day of the Westmoreland Fair shows the rockets glare and that day was Tuesday as the 4-H Model Rocket Flight Test took place.

REDWICK, Gwent, UK — It runs on space shuttle fuel, and will reach nearly twice the speed of sound on its journey to an altitude of around two miles.

LITTLE EGG HARBOR. New Jersey USA — After a group countdown, Tuckerton Elementary School student David Cook pushed a button Friday and launched his model rocket toward the clouds above the Pinelands Regional High School soccer field.

EDNEYVILLE, North Carolina USA — The whoosh of rockets in the background, the smell of hot dogs sizzling on the grill and the clink of horseshoes accented the culmination picnic for the Jumpstart program at East Henderson High School.

JERSEY SHORE, Pennsylvania USA — Michala Alexander's new hobby is really taking off - literally.

DENVER, Colorado USA - The FAA is restricting air space in the Denver area during the Democratic National Convention.

GREENCASTLE, Indiana USA — Eric Merrell's face just beams with excitement when he talks about model rocketry.

LAKE TOWNSHIP, Ohio USA — The garage at Steve Eves' home looks ordinary — maybe a little bigger than most, but nothing striking.

But the work barn outside his Greentown-area home resembles the local branch of NASA.