St. Louis Rocketry Association Marks Apollo 16 Anniversary With Launch Event

By Carmelo Turdo

The St. Louis Rocketry Association (SLRA) celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 16 flight with a commemorative launch event on Sunday, May 1, at Buder Park. Association members gathered with family, friends and guests to observe the launch of a wide variety of model rocket types. The highlight of the event was the elaborate launch sequence leading up to the flight of David Kovar's 1:100 scale Saturn V. 

The Apollo 16 moon mission (April 16, 1972 - April 27, 1972) was crewed by Mission Commander John W. Young, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke and Command Module Pilot Thomas Mattingly. The mission had ambitious goals, building from the successes of Apollo 15, but it was actually shortened by one day. Despite some setbacks, including technical issues with the command and service module and when John Young tripped over and broke the cable to the heat flow experiment on the moon's surface, the mission did expand the capabilities of Apollo. The crew spent 71 hours on the lunar surface, accomplished 3 EVAs totaling over 20 hours, collected 209 pounds of lunar material and drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle 16.6 miles. 

SLRA periodically hosts commemorative launches to celebrate the anniversaries of NASA manned space flights. Association members are especially fond of launching their Saturn V and Mercury Redstone rockets, some of which were represented at the recent event. 

The Aero Experience attends these events whenever possible, and here we include a photo survey of the rockets launched as well as a highlight video that puts you in the middle of the action. We thank the SLRA members attending the Apollo 16 Commemorative Launch event for their hospitality and willingness to share their knowledge and experience with model rocketry.