What a wonderful way to ring in the new year!

Many thanks to all who came out and helped ROCC bring in 2011 with the sound of (whoosh!) ROCKETS!

The weather held out for us fairly well, with the foig burning off and the first rocket off the pad shortly after 11:11 and then closing in about 3 pm with the predicted rain and lowering ceiling. We had a couple to punch the cloud deck and when the rain came it was the prudent thing to do to close down.

Thanks for making the trip Ken, I hope folks flocked to your doorstep and bought lots of stuff, you seemed busy all day and that's a good thing! Thanks and welcome to all the new faces, and all who renewed their memberships. I think there were about a dozen or so, plus a few from the last launch, that we'll get processed in the next week or so and get your log-ins set up.

Start planning for the 15th & 16th of January for our regular launch, weather permitting it'll be normal times and back at the farm.

Happy New Year everybody, and to all peace and prosperity in 2011.

DR

Official ROCC 1-1-11 announcement:

Hey Rocket Dudes and Dudettes..!!  Happy New Year!   The “Almost last Minute” Pre-Launch Update for the mystical 1-1-11 New Years Saturday Launch.  

OK, Its still on, and still at the “Farm”

Setup = at 1030 with launch to start as soon as setup is complete, about 1100.

Teardown = to start at 3:00, or there-a-bouts while we have plenty of light. (rain not forecasted till late afternoon or early evening).   Waiver open from 11:00 - 3:00 Check the ROCC Web Site  for any last minute changes.

I’ve heard that I’m not the only one too old for all that drunken revelry new years night so I expect that a few others plan on being awake and sober Sat morning.  

It is NOT CONFIRMED but fairly certain that Ken will be there.

Parking =  We expect soft ground so keep vehicles to the sides and no parking beyond the Port-a-pot. Sign-in table = to be setup in line with the port-a-pot with the Launch control table in front of that.   We still recommend that you dress in layers. Its forecasted to up to the 60’s by the afternoon. So you can take off a layer or put on a layer as needed. But you will still need some good outdoor type shoes to keep your feet warm and dry. There is liable to be some soft moist ground out there.  

Yeah, those who have commented about it, I agree that we will not need the “fire Pit” this launch. Some hot coffee or cocoa in a thermos would still be a good idea in the morning. Bring some drinks and snacks to keep your strength up.   Try to keep it simple and easy on yourself for a one day launch, bring only what you need to fly what you want without rushing yourself by trying to do more than you have the time and resources for.  

Remember it is ROCC Membership season, it runs Jan to Jan. See Louise. ROCC officer elections are also due. Usually done in Nov and Dec. If interested in getting more involved, just ask any of us. Even if you don’t have much to launch, it is a lot of fun to run the Launch System and help make things happen.  

Again, hope to see you out at the pads..and remember... Keep those exhaust nozzles clear.

Roy.

Update on Friday, December 31, 2010 at 8:39PM by DOC R.

Weather right now is looking like rain is due by 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Cloud cover will be considerable, so I don't think the waiver will be in danger of being broken. Winds during most of the launch are predicted to be from the south at 7 mph. Temps in trhe mid 50's. We should be OK as long as the rain forcast holds to be accurate.

Ho Ho Holy cow, we launched a lot on Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great time at our cold ROCC Christmas monthly launch in December. The planning for this launch was less than perfect since the weather forecast was so “iffy” and we knew that we would have a light turnout with Christmas only a week away. Just a very few brave souls showed up on Saturday. A few did fly until the freezing rain started at about 12pm. Sunday’s turnout was a bit better but we still had a much lower turnout than usual. We need to focus on memberships in January. Though not required to attend and fly at the farm, donations provide the funds to maintain the club equipment, TRA and NAR association fees and insurance. A reminder to all who come out to the field that donations are necessary in order to pay expenses. The flight donation jar at the launch table goes to the land owner in appreciation for the use of his land and providing a storage shed for out equipment. We have a lot of good photographers out at the launches and we would like to post your photos, the good, the bad and the ugly on our club web site so contact Doc Russell at DOCR@wireknot.com or wireknot@gmail.com to see how to get your shots posted.

Click to read more ...

Cassini-Huygens update 1/26/11

One of Brad's astronomy buddies sent out an invite to an upcoming FREE talk about the status of the Cassini-Huygens mission. It's in Greensboro, at the Natural Science center. 

It's on January 26 at 7:00 at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro. The talk will be given by Trina Ray, a member of  JPL's Cassini-Huygens staff. 

For more info, or if you're interested in going, contact Roger D. Joyner, OmniSphere Curator, The Natural Science Center of Greensboro,  336-288-3769

Website with info is located here.

Make-up launch on 1-1-11

Since the December launch got cut short by the rain, sleet and cold, and since we're not all postal employees having to adhere to that old slogan, we'd like to invite you out for a make-up day on the first of January.

Come ring in the new year with some real fireworks and loud noises from 11:00  till 3:00 at the Williams Farm, Midland, NC and start the new year off right.

See you there!

"Buckyballs" found... in SPACE!

This from NASA's space place:

The infrared spectroscopic signature of "Buckyballs," 60-carbon-atom molecules, have been identified in a planetary nebula.

Huge Space Molecules Found! Although not quite as big as soccer balls, they do resemble them with their spherical shape structured of hexagons and pentagons. They are the largest molecules ever found in space. They are "Buckyballs," found in the infrared spectral signature detected by the Spitzer Space Telescope in a neighboring galaxy. Read the article using Microsoft Word. Read the article using Adobe Reader.

Sunday is looking OK, but check comments

Well, we flew till about Noon, and then the sleet came.... so the field was cleared and reset.

Sunday is looking not too bad though, and Ken is trying to come down, so check back in a bit. We'll try and post as soon as we know what's what.

December 18th & 19th Launch

Weather update... I've been wathcing the emails going back and forth and the weather... Saturday is looking dicey at best, with frozen ground and then a long, slow, cold rain. Keep checking back here as Saturday may well be impossible for flying. Brad will make the call more than likely by Thursday night or Friday morning.

DR

Working toward our December launch...

Our membership drive is in full swing!  Remember, all memberships are up for renewal before January. And after getting the info from Roy on our member accoounts from figuring out the log-ins for the site, we've been kind of slack last year about getting our members to renew (to confess, myself included!) So remember, renew in December!

If you have a contribution for Kip and his family, we usually try and give them a little thank you for working so hard to keep us happy. (It ain't easy!)

So come on out and have a blast!

November 2010 Launch Report

by Louise Ferrell....... I hope everyone had a great time at our ROCC Thanksgiving monthly launch in November. We had an incredible number of fliers on 11/20 and a smaller group on 11/21. Conditions were excellent both days with the winds very calm on Sunday. Temperatures both days were in the 60's with few clouds in the sky. It was great to see everyone after such a long break from flying in Cabarrus County. Thanks for all the help setting and tearing down the launch. Everyone’s efforts were greatly appreciated! Ken Allen was present for both days and a number of fliers took advantage of the shopping opportunity. Ken should be there for the December launch so bring cash and/or cards; remember it is Christmas time!

Click to read more ...

Turkey Day treats

First, a big THANK YOU to Sandy Houston, for his 2 Slow Motion video compilations that he's allowed me to post on the ROCC YouTube site... check 'em out.

Second, this from the NASA ISS tracking site, located HERE 

Look for the 2 that have elevations of 72 and 84 degrees. Those will pass almost directly overhead in Charlotte. Happy Turkey Day!

DR

THE FOLLOWING ISS SIGHTINGS ARE POSSIBLE FROM MON NOV 22 TO TUE DEC 07

SATELLITE	LOCAL	DURATION	MAX ELEV	APPROACH	DEPARTURE
	DATE/TIME	(MIN)	(DEG)	(DEG-DIR)	(DEG-DIR)

ISS	Wed Nov 24/06:08 AM	< 1	15	15 above SSE	15 above SSE
ISS	Thu Nov 25/06:32 AM	4	72	17 above SW	15 above NE
ISS	Fri Nov 26/05:24 AM	1	18	16 above SSE	18 above SE
ISS	Sat Nov 27/05:50 AM	4	84	26 above SW	16 above NE
ISS	Sun Nov 28/06:16 AM	3	24	18 above WNW	17 above N