St. Louis Rocketry Association Hosts Spooktacular Night Launch Event

By Carmelo Turdo

The St. Louis Rocketry Association (SLRA) celebrated Halloween with a Spooktacular Night Launch event October 29 that also commemorated the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 17 mission that blasted off on December 7, 1972. Association members gathered with family, friends and guests to observe the launch of a wide variety of model rocket types, with the highlight of the event being the flight of David Kovar's 1:100 scale Saturn V. Add in grilled hotdogs and some very mild autumn evening weather, and you have some high-flying fun.

 

The Apollo 17 moon mission (December 7, 1972 - December 19, 1972) was crewed by Mission Commander Eugene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans. This last manned lunar mission expanded upon the past capabilities of the Apollo program by employing the expertise of the first scientist-astronaut (Schmitt), driving the Lunar Roving Vehicle 30.5km and collecting 243lbs of lunar material during Cernan and Schmitt's 75 hours on the moon. 

SLRA periodically hosts commemorative launches to celebrate the anniversaries of NASA manned space flights or holiday themes. Association members brought a wide variety of rockets for the night launch event, including several extra scary ones later in this sequence!

The Aero Experience attends these events whenever possible, and we thank the SLRA members for their hospitality and willingness to share their knowledge and experience with model rocketry.