First I should make it clear why I went:
- The first reason was to watch the ULA intern rocket launches. How could watching the launch of a 25 foot tall rocket not be cool?
- I've never been to a club launch other than CRASH, which does non-waivered launches, so this would be a neat opportunity to see some bigger stuff fly.
- I decided to do my L1 certification attempt.
- And finally, I went for the fun of being around lots of other rocket geeks (and vendors).
One thing I've come to realize, which perhaps should have been obvious from the name of the event, is that much of the focus is about competitions (the AM in NARAM is for "Annual Meet", after all). I've never really been into official competitions (rocketry or otherwise), so that's not really my thing. Nevertheless, the sport range was set to be open all week, and there were nightly events at the hotel, so I knew there would be lots to do.
The ULA Launch
One interesting point to make here is that there is really no link between NARAM in general and the ULA launch. AFAIK, the ULA launch happens at the SCORE site in Pueblo every year, and it just happened to coincide with NARAM 56 being there this year. While the ULA launches were a big draw and focal point of the first day of NARAM 56, I'll note two things: First, the ULA page describing the 2014 launches says NOTHING about the NAR, NARAM, or SCORE (while the reverse is not true - the NARAM 56 site does have info about the ULA launches). Second, the ULA interns I spoke to seemed correspondingly uninterested in the NAR and NARAM. They were there on Saturday, did their launches, and then were gone. The few that my wife and I spoke to, even at their information booth, were definitely not there to promote any sort of NAR involvement. To be frank - and to be fair, maybe this was just the handful of interns we spoke with - they didn't seem interested in promoting anything, including ULA. They were pretty wrapped up in themselves. Maybe that's just college kids for you.
Nevertheless, it was pretty cool to watch the launches. Since two out of three of them are O class rockets, we had to be about 2000 feet away. But still, really cool to see. Big, bright, smokey, and LOUD. I'd definitely make the two hour drive down to Pueblo just to see this again.
Here are a few points of advice for first timers if you ever go to see these:
- Before you go, check out the ULA site for event details. I'd only looked for info on the NARAM 56 site, which didn't have as much of the schedule detail as the ULA site did. So I didn't know the specific launch schedule until we arrived that morning.
- Get there early, not just to stake out a viewing spot, but to get a close-up look at the rockets. They only allow this for a one-hour window in the morning, and you have to factor in time for the 3/4 mile round trip walk to do this (a big consideration if, like us, you have little kids with you).
- Bring some sort of sunshade. This year, the launches were scheduled for 10:00, 11:00, and 12:00, but they were somewhat delayed (and I gather that happens for one reason or another every year).
- Bring a portable FM radio. We got there late enough that we had to set ourselves a good distance from the PA area. While there's not a bad seat in the house for viewing the launches, we could barely hear the PA, and almost missed one launch because we couldn't hear the countdown. If you get there early enough to stake out a good spot, this won't be an issue. But apparently they were broadcasting the PA on a localized FM frequency as well.
- As you're hanging out waiting for the launches, chat up your neighbors. Many of the people there to observe have some sort of connection to the project, so you never know what you might learn. We happened to be sitting by a retired ULA engineer who's been an advisor on the project for five years, and also the parents of an intern who built one of the payloads.
Stars 'n'Stripes shortly before launch.
Stars 'n'Stripes goes up.
Recovery of the booster stage of Future. These guys were hot and tired after a long walk.
Hanging out at NARAM in general
- Sport Launching: We had a great time doing this. It was crowded on the weekend, but from Monday on was low-key. So cool to just be there and see all the rockets and all the flights. Many big rockets (up through M class), many odd rocs. Of course, everyone is happy to talk about their rockets, your rockets, and whatever else. We met a ton of really nice people. Bring a big sunshade and table and set up your spot.
- Vendors: No vendors ever set up at the hotel, although a room was available for them to if they wanted. There were a whole lot of them at the sport range, but that started to thin out after the weekend (though there was always at least someone selling motors). I never noted anyone offering any special deals for the event (other than 10% off of your next web order or something to that effect).
- The competitions: As I said, I'm not really a competitor. But since registration included participation in one event for free, I decided to enter the 160m set altitude comp just to see what it was like (I happen to have one rocket that I've flown with an altimeter that hits within 10m of that fairly reliably). Short story: I don't plan to become more of a competitor in the future. These folks take this very seriously. If you're a newcomer to this, read and understand the Pink Book so you know the process, because (in my limited experience) people at the event were not entirely patient with newbs who don't know the process, and don't have the time, willingness, or people skills to speak the two or three sentences that might make clear what you need to do next. Overall, I find sport launching a lot more fun that the competitions.
Everything Else
There was always something going on in the evenings: viewing rockets submitted for the "fun event" competitions (as well as "real" comps), viewing of prang videos (a scheduled night launch was canceled due to weather), a fundraising auction, etc. This stuff was all neat to see, and another great chance to mingle and chat with other rocket buffs. As I mentioned before, we met so many nice and interesting people.
Final Thoughts
It was a great time. We all enjoyed it - even my wife, who is not really a "rocket person." It was a great chance to get more involved in the hobby, meet people, see some interesting things people have done, and also feel my way around what specific areas of it interest me most (HPR- yes, competitions - no). While I don't know that I'd go any further than a few hours' drive for another such event in the future, it does make me want to become more involved with my local NAR sections.
