Rocketry Planet

ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico USA - The Fellowship of Las Cruces Area Rocketry Enthusiasts (FLARE) and the Spaceport Model Rocketry Association (SMRA) of Alamogordo are pleased to announce that online pre-registration for the NAR's National Sport Launch 2010 is now open. Scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend (May 29-31) in Alamogordo, New Mexico, NSL 2010 promises to be one of the most event filled NSL's in recent history.

Located adjacent to historic White Sands Missile Range and Holloman AFB and less than 60 miles straight-line distance from Spaceport America, the theme for NSL 2010 is "Frontier of Aerospace Past, Present, and Future" in celebration of the region's rich history and future potential. FLARE and SMRA have teamed up to create an NSL filled with 6 full days of sport launching and special tours that highlight the region's historical significance.

First, there's the main course:

The event's launch site is wide open and ready for your flights.

The launch site for NSL 2010 is Veteran's Memorial Park, located in the open desert scrubland approximately two miles outside of town. As a permanent, developed launch site for rockets (as well as R/C airplanes at a separate, adjacent facility), Veteran's Memorial Park features such amenities as permanent shade structures and tables for LCO and Safety Check, a 12' observation tower to aid in rocket recovery tracking, and running water (always a plus at a desert launch site).

The main launch range will be set up in a left-right pad bank arrangement with 24 pads on each side. The main range can accommodate K and complex J motors up to 5,069' AGL and L and M motors up to 4,752' AGL. There are two away cells for launching larger motors and higher flights: Spot 1 can accommodate L and complex K motors up to 7,181' AGL, while Spot 2 can accommodate M and N motors up to 6,547' AGL.

There are several fun contests and events planned during the three days of the launch:

• The Centennial Challenge is a long-standing tradition at Veteran's Memorial Park. The object is to successfully launch a rocket at least 100 inches in length on no more than 100 Newton-Seconds total thrust for the longest flight duration.  Motors may be clustered or staged, but the recovered sustainer segment must be at least 100" in length
• Sierra Blanca or Bust Challenge. Named after nearby Sierra Blanca peak (the highest peak in southern NM at 12,003' above MSL), this contest is a two-flight predicted altitude contest for HPR flyers. The challenge is to have the sum of the base field elevation of 4,314' plus the altitudes of two flights come as close to 12,003 ft (3658.5M) as possible without going over. If the second flight results in the sum of all three elements exceeding12,003 then the altitude of the second flight is dropped from the total. The same rocket and motor class must be flown for both flights.
• Paper Helicopter Contest Duration.  Contestants will build paper helicopters that are launched en masse aboard an F/G powered payloader rocket.  The helicopters are released during parachute ejection.  The last helicopter to land is the winner.
• Mass Launch of V2 rockets
• A night launch is planned for Saturday evening.
• As a special project for NSL, host club member Michael Maurer will be giving away 10 H motor reloads ("10 in 2010") for first time L1 certification attempts.

In addition to the launch and its various activities, we're serving up several savory side dishes:

• May 27th - White Sands National Monument Full Moon Madness Night.  The National Monument is only open past sunset (until 11:00 p.m. ) for the full moon a very few times during the year.  One of the days this year happens to be Thursday, May 27th.  Come early to NSL and be sure to bring your snow saucer to sled on the dunes - it's a blast!! Then, after dark, experience White Sands by the light of the full moon - it's like standing on the surface of another planet. 
• May 28th - (afternoon) Sacramento Peak Solar Observatory tour (60 spaces available). The Sacramento Peak Solar Observatory at Sunspot is a part of the National Solar Observatory Program and consists of several telescopes, each used to study different aspects of solar activity. Nearby is the Apache Point Observatory, home to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
• May 28th - (evening) NSL Blastoff Dinner/Social.  Come and be a part of the first official mass gathering of NSL 2010 participants at the Boot Hill RV Resort Pavilion. 
• May 29th - NSL Kids Camp at the New Mexico Museum of Space History.  This is a day designed for kids who would like to spend some time away from their crazy rocket parents.  The museum has a full day planned for them that includes hands-on activities, a guided tour of the museum, and admission to an IMAX movie.  Lunch will be provided as well. 
• May 29th - (afternoon) New Mexico Museum of Space History Guided Tour/IMAX Movie. After you've burned through your first day's allotment of motors, come to the (air conditioned) museum and enjoy the artifacts and exhibits detailing the history and technology of space travel and New Mexico's contributions to the space program. Then, take in an IMAX movie at the (also air-conditioned) Clyde W. Tombaugh IMAX Theater and Planetarium next door. Napping during the movie is permitted, but not really recommended.
• May 30th - (afternoon) Space Museum Warehouse/Restoration Facility. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the artifacts currently being refurbished as well as the museum's "secret stash" of artifacts that are just too big to fit into the museum building itself.

Then, after all of the launching and other tours and activities are done, we offer up dessert:

• June 1st - White Sands Missile Range/Holloman AFB tour. A chartered tour bus will take you out to Launch Complex 33 (a National Historic Landmark site), where captured German V2 missiles were test launched after WWII and also used to test launch such other rockets and missiles as the WAC Corporal, Hermes, Nike, Atlas, and Viking. After a stop at the WSMR museum and missile park, the tour will head to the High Speed Test Track at Holloman AFB, where in 1954 Dr. John Paul Stapp became "The Fastest Man Alive" riding the Sonic Wind rocket sled, and which is still periodically used  for extreme acceleration, deceleration, and high velocity tests today. The High Speed Test Track and Launch Complex 33 are rarely open to the public, so for NSL participants and their families it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. (50 spaces available) 

Some of the tours and special events are free, while others have a nominal fee. NSL participants may sign up for as many or few of these extra events as they wish during online registration. Tour and special event sign-up is through online registration only, so reserve your spot while you can.

We have striven to make NSL 2010 not just "another big launch", but also an ideal family summer vacation destination. We hope you'll join us for the fun. For more information and registration visit our website at http://www.nsl2010.org/.