Rocketry 2004/2005

Rocketry Field Day, April 16^th! (from April newsletter)

By Rob Tashjian

Rocketry Field Day will take place on Saturday, April 16, from 4pm to 9pm at Robertson Park in Livermore.  All 4-H members can participate, you do not need to be a rocketry project member.  It is being organized by the Abbie, Bayside, and Montclair clubs.  The launch itself (and night launch - look at all the pretty lights!) is being hosted by LUNAR (Livermore Unit of the National Association of Rocketry).

It should be a pretty fun event.  We will be showing (and launching) our rockets, there will be some special demos (such as synchronized launches - six rockets all launching at once!) and at about 7pm or so, we will be launching lighted rockets into the night sky!  We will have some 'loaner' rockets for any 4-H member who wants to launch a rocket!  Rocketry Project members will be available to help you prep the rocket for launch.

There will be a pot luck dinner at the park that will be open to all 4H'ers.

If you want to participate, or just come out, watch, and join us for dinner, fill out the rocketry field day registration form on the county website, or send the information via email to rob@tashjian.com.

Finally, be sure to call the LUNAR hotline, (925) 443-8705, before driving out in case of an emergency cancellation.

Rocket Launch at Snow Ranch (from April newsletter)

By Ariele Silvas

On April 2, I launched rockets for the first time at Snow Ranch. It was a nice little drive out into the country where we saw pretty mountains  with lots of cows. The launch site was big with creeks all around. I saw many different rockets. Some were very big and colorful, my favorite were the two pinata rockets. The two rockets exploded and Easter eggs with little parachutes came out. I was able to catch one. It was a lot of fun. I also launched four of my own rockets. When we left the ranch we saw many baby jackrabbits. I'm looking forward to go back again. 

Rocket Launches (from January newsletter)

By Ariele Silvas

On Saturday December 18, I, along with my family, went to a rocketry launch in Livermore. I launched my Banshee, and two other rockets: "Black Beauty", and "Mushu". Despite losing my Banshee in a neighborhood, I had a good time launching my other rockets. My tall "Black Beauty" didn't go very high at first, but when I inserted a C motor, it went really, really, high.  I think it's really fun to launch rockets and watch them soar. Somebody launched a rocket in the shape of a Christmas Tree. It was successful in taking off and landing. It's great to see all the shapes and sizes these rockets come in. Rocketry is a super project!!!!! TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Daniel Chen

“Awesome!” is how I would describe my first rocket launch. I saw all different kinds of rockets at the launch; some were a little bigger than pencils and some were huge 4ft. fancy rockets. Somebody even tried (3 times, unsuccessfully) to launch a lampshade!

My favorite part was when I launched the Banshee rocket I built myself. My first try was disappointing because my Banshee started spinning and flipping over in mid-air. The next 2 launches were great, though. Everybody in our 4H group launched their rocket at exactly the same time, that’s called a “drag race.” My third Banshee launch was the highest. My rocket flew clear out of the park and landed in someone’s front yard, right on top of someone else’s rocket.