SOUTH ACTON, Massachussetts USA — Shouts of "T minus five, four, three, two, one - ignition!" echoed across a soccer field as spectators strolled in from the road for launch day.

A foot-long rocket hissed as it spiraled into the air, its tracks marked by a coil of white smoke. A faint pop sounded. A small parachute unfolded. The paper projectile floated gently back to the ground.

Only the wind disturbed its quiet descent.

On the field in South Acton, parents, children and rocket enthusiasts cheered. Kids charged across the field to retrieve the once-airborne object. The countdown began again and another - although later sometimes two or three launched simultaneously - rocket fired into the air.

More than a hundred people attended the Central Massachusetts Space Modeling Society's (CMASS) rocket launch on the School Street soccer field Aug. 12. The event is an annual effort to get more kids excited about science.
 
Rocket builders of all ages came from Acton, Boxborough and as far as New Hampshire to launch their homemade projectiles, which varied in shape, size and design.
 
In just four hours after the event's start, more than 210 rockets attempted flight from one of the 10 launch pads in the middle of the field.
 
Rocket society coordinator Jim Salem, who worked the launch igniter, said this year's turn out is better than the last.
 
"Last year we had around 200 launches so we'll definitely go over that," said Salem, an Acton resident.
 
Boxborough resident Cindy Markowitz and her son Ruben, 12, stood a few feet from where the rockets were dispatched and commented on them as they shot into the air.
 
"It's just fun being out here, watching the rockets zoom up and then boom! And a parachute comes out," said Ruben. He pointed at the sky and followed one rocket's flight with his finger. Ruben started building rockets after attending a workshop at the Discovery Museums on Main Street.
 
His mother said building rockets is a family tradition.
 
"My brothers used to do this back in the '60s and it's so interesting how much [model rockets] have changed and not changed," Cindy said. She doesn't mind the arsonist side of Ruben's hobby and calls it a "wholesome event."
 
"I think it's great and it teaches them a little rocket science and education," she said. "I like the way they take the time to build the model, paint it and then send it up."
 
Model rocket builder and designer Jim Flis, the founder of Fliskits, a business that makes model rocket sets, said rocket-building is a hands-on way of learning and involves families was key to the event.
 
"I'm real pleased to see not just rocketeers but families," said Flis, who is also a member of the space modeling society. Flis teaches a rocket workshop at the Discovery Museums and drove down from Merrimack, N.H., to attend the event.
 
Flis went back to stand in line to launch a new design that looked like it was made out of plywood. Flis explained the small red strings would burn, the arms would spring up and the rocket would descend like a helicopter. The launch of his new model was a success.

In passing, Flis told someone, "If you think this is a lot of rockets, you should see my basement."
 
George Wrenn of Acton brought his two sons to shoot off their rockets, which he said is a regular practice at his home.
 
"We've built over a hundred [at home] and the trees around our house are peppered with rockets hanging from them," Wren said. He added his 7-year-old son, Xavier, started building them when he was around 3 and he'll try to make one out of just about anything.
 
"In my yard, we've launched millions," Xavier said. "I like to see the explosions and the parachutes pop out." Xavier may well be on his way to being a rocket scientist as he described different rockets he's built and various engine types. Last weekend was Xavier's and his brother George's first time at the rocket launch.
 
Kids at the event gathered in little groups to compare their projectiles while parents watched from lawn chairs or blankets surrounding the launch area. Adults and kids stood in line to have their rockets ignited and several participants talked shop as they waited.
 
One veteran rocket builder, Chris Caruso, 14, said he's attended the society's rocket launch events for the past three or four years. He drove down from Roxbury, N.H., with his dad to launch his Polaris rocket.
 
"People really care about what they do here," said Caruso. "And it's so much fun."