Rocketry Planet

It started off as a simple merit badge in Boy Scouts: Build a rocket and shoot it into the air.

That's how Mike Loosle, 38, of Stansbury Park, had his first encounter with a rocket. Then a few years ago, he saw a rocket at a hobby shop and decided to buy it for old times' sake.

"I bought it, put it together and started flying it," he said. "Then I found out about the Utah Rocket Club, and now I just keep going to bigger and bigger rockets."

Mike Loosle expects that Big Thump, his 8-foot rocket, will reach a height of 7,500 feet at this week's Hellfire event on the Salt Flats.

Loosle will be attempting to get his Level 3 certification, the highest attainable, this weekend at the UROC Hellfire Event. His 8-foot rocket, Big Thump, will exert 350-400 pounds of thrust for about four seconds, ascending about 7,500 feet into the air.

Hellfire begins at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover with research flights. All of the rockets that fly that day are handcrafted, from the motors to the casings.

This is the day one or two large projects that members have put together will fly, said Scott Danner, UROC president.

That's the reason UROC has obtained an FAA waiver to fly rockets up to 25,000 feet. Some of the rockets will be using the same fuel NASA uses in its space shuttles.

"We're talking really modern-edge rocket technology," Danner said. "There's quite a bit of investment."

During all four days spectators will be able to see the rockets on display. Fliers decorate their rockets with air-brushing and other techniques. There will also be vendors from around the region selling rocketry, hobby and space-related items.

Danner estimates that between Friday and Sunday, there will be around 800 launches.

"We have several extremely large rockets that we are going to fly, that we typically haven't flown," he said.

All of the rockets will have some kind of recovery device. Danner said the Salt Flats is a good place to have the event because fliers don't lose as many rockets.

About 60 fliers are registered for the event. Launches will begin at 9 a.m. each day, Thursday through Sunday, weather permitting.

Admission is free and open to the public. Spectators are urged to bring water, portable shade, chairs and lots of sunscreen.

For additional information about the event, visit http://www.uroc.org/.