Tag: #RocketSeason

Rockets 2019 Southeast Texas/Smith Point Launches Thursday Recap

The Southeast Texas/Smith Point testing site had it’s first day of launches today. Currently  57 vehicles are scheduled for testing by 17 schools at this site. This site will  test this weekend, May 9-11, with a rain contingency day to be used only if needed on May 12.

The original schedule for today showed four schools launching 11 rockets. Reports from the site this evening boasted a great day, with 13 vehicles launched, 12 recovered and only one in the Bay. That is really good odds for a startup day.

Opening day gave the group perfect weather, with only partly cloudy skies which works well to keep the rails lifting those rockets skyward. According to Captain Garrett, they were all off the range by 4:30 (16:30) which is great for team and volunteers to be able to get some food and rest before it starts again tomorrow.

Erin Arkinson reports that things went well, but they are now watching the weather closely hoping that they can make it to the range tomorrow. There is a big weather cell moving across the area and more to come. Be sure to watch SystemsGo’s Facebook page for weather updates, including any delays to tomorrow or subsequent days’ start times.

The Southeast Texas/Smith Point launch dates, locations, map links, ticket links, picture links, live stream links, and schools are also listed here for your convenience or can be found at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

Southeast Texas/Smith Point

The site will be open for admittance at 8:00 a.m. and launches will commence at 8:30 a.m.  Of course rockets are subject to winds, weather and workmanship, all of which can stall a launch. Come join in the action and cheer on these students. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

If you plan to attend any of these launches please register for your attendance ticket ahead of time or obtain them at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site. Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

If you follow this program and like viewing the launches, this is the last one available to view for Rockets 2019.

Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the event if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on these events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches! #RideTheSkies #texasrockettrail #Rockets2019

 

 

 

Rockets 2019 Southeast Texas/Smith Point Launches This Weekend

The  2019 Rocket season is on it’s last leg of the junior series launches with the Southeast Texas/Smith Point testing site. As the name states, this site is in Smith Point just south of Anahuac, Texas. It is for schools in the Houston and Southeast Texas area.   Currently  57 vehicles are scheduled for testing by 17 schools at this site. This site will  test this weekend, May 9-11, with a rain contingency day to be used only if needed on May 12.

The Southeast Texas (Houston) location originally began in Clute, Texas near Lake Jackson, Texas in 2012.  The Houston launch opportunity became the second venue for testing for SystemsGo program students and schools at this point. It allowed many of the schools traveling from that area to the Fredericksburg launch a testing site closer to home. It also took some of the burden from Central Texas launch and redistributed it to the Houston site.

In 2017, the Clute location closed and the site moved to Smith Point making this the third year for launches in that space.

The Southeast Texas/Smith Point launch dates, locations, map links, ticket links, and schools are also listed here for your convenience or can be found at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

Southeast Texas/Smith Point

  • Thursday, May 9 – Saturday, May 11
  • Launch & All Stages: 19350 FM 562, Anahuac, TX 77514
    South of Anahuac, near Smith Point, Texas
  • Event Tickets
  • Southeast Texas-Smith Point 2019 Flight Schedule
  • Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/GE2tXoy3bgE2
  • Schools participating: Gary HS, Hardin-Jefferson HS, Harleton HS, Northstar HS, SF Austin HS, Anahuac HS, Booker T Washington HS, Liberty HS, Pasadena Memorial HS, South Houston HS, Brazsoport HS, Brazoswood HS, Channelview HS, Kingwood Park HS, Milby HS, New Diana HS
  • 57 expected rockets for testing
  • A live feed for each launch will be provided and will be available at www.systemsgo.org as each launch date arrives.

The site will be open for admittance at 8:00 a.m. and launches will commence at 8:30 a.m.  Of course rockets are subject to winds, weather and workmanship, all of which can stall a launch. Come join in the action and cheer on these students. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

Later in the summer, eight Texas schools are currently on the roster to attempt a possible 10 rockets at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, completing the fifth launch and finalizing the season.

If you plan to attend any of these launches please register for your attendance ticket ahead of time or obtain them at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site. Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

If you follow this program and like viewing the launches, this is the last one available to view for Rockets 2019.

A live feed for each launch will be provided and will be available at www.systemsgo.org as each launch date arrives.

The senior groups are tentatively scheduled to launch their Goddard level rockets at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico in late June.  These are not available for public viewing or Livestream due to being tested on a military facility, but blog and SystemsGo updates will be posted online as available during that week.

Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the event if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on these events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches! #RideTheSkies #texasrockettrail #Rockets2019

 

 

 

Rockets 2019 Central Texas/Stonewall Ended Today, With a Weather Makeup Day, Sunday

The Central Texas/Stonewall launch hit its final day in this series for the Rockets 2019 season, today. This day was not originally on the schedule but added due to inclement weather on Thursday and Friday to allow schools another launch option if they could not complete theirs due to the bad weather. Only one school, Georgetown High School chose this option. They had four rockets to test today. Three 1 pound/1 mile and 1 Transonic.

All four vehicles were tested and launched, 3 beautifully, and the fourth only made about fifty feet, before tumbling back down near the pad. Even so, all were tested and all recovered.

There was some added interest in this school for the Segner and Spies families, as they had a couple of relatives that recently began working for this school that joined the rocket group at the ranch to watch the launches.

Thanks so much to Sammy Segner, Troy, Jennifer, and Reed Spies, and Richard Koone for the use of their properties and for joining in the hunt for rockets as recovery teams. They made the weekend very enjoyable for everyone involved. It was a great first year at the new location and everyone is looking forward to being there again next season.

There were a total of 37 rockets tested by 19 schools at the new  Stonewall location for Rockets 2019. The recovery teams did a wonderful job of hunting them and returning them to the students. There were only 2 that were not recovered.

Thank is also in order for the Stonewall Chamber of Commerce for hosting Stage 1 and 2 at their building.

Pictures from the progress at the site to this weekend are on SystemsGo Facebook page, as well as my Facebook page. They can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/SystemsGoEducation/

https://www.facebook.com/ginger.burow

If you follow this program and like to view the launches, Rockets 2019  will continue with one more launch next week, May 9-11, with a possible weather make up day again on Sunday. There are some weather predictions for next week that might necessitate using Sunday just as we did this week. The final launch of the junior level rockets will be held in Smith Point just south of Anahuac, Texas (the Southeast Texas/Smith Point launch) for schools in the Houston  and Southeast Texas area.

The senior groups are tentatively scheduled to launch their Goddard level rockets at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico in late June.  These are not available for public viewing or Livestream due to being tested on a military facility, but blog and SystemsGo updates will be posted online as available during that week. This will be the fifth launch sequence and will finalize the Rockets 2019 season.

The Smith Point site will be open to public viewing of launches as well. However, if you plan to attend any of these launches please register for your attendance ticket ahead of time or obtain them at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site. Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

Come join in the action and cheer on these students too. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

A live feed for each launch will be provided and will be available at www.systemsgo.org as each launch date arrives.

More event details will be available here in upcoming days as events get closer. Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the events if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on theses events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches! #RideTheSkies #texasrockettrail #Rockets2019

 

 

 

Rockets 2019 Central Texas/Stonewall Saturday Launch Report

Today was the third day of launches at Stonewall for Central Texas Rockets 2019. It was a fantastic day as the team and volunteers launched 19 rockets today. Schools from Akins HS, Alamo Heights HS, Fredericksburg HS, Hamilton HS, Kingwood HS, Llano HS, Liberty Christian HS, London ISD HS, Marble Falls HS, and McGregor HS all had rockets tested today. About half of these were trailered rockets from Thursday. These schools were ready to go when the storm prevented further launches, so the vehicles were held until they could be launched and videoed on Livestream allowing the schools to watch their tests from home.

All 19 rockets were successfully tested today. All but one was successfully recovered today.  That makes only two rockets out of 33 tested over the past three days, still in the field to be found.

Mr. Brett Williams, the program’s creator dropped by with Joan Baker, former NASA dignitary that was instrumental in getting NASA involved in the program, forging a relationship that still stands today.  Unfortunately I was unable to get a picture of Ms. Baker. This visit was also a short reunion for Mr. Williams and a couple of the teachers from the early days that are still heavily involved in the program. The three are pictured below, left to right, Brett Williams, Collin Lange, and Doug Underwood.

Today was originally scheduled to be the last day of Central Texas Rockets here in Stonewall, but due to weather on Thursday and Friday, some schools rescheduled to Saturday and Sunday. Therefore we are still launching tomorrow. There is only one school, Georgetown High School with 4 rockets left to accommodate tomorrow, so hopefully it will be a short day launching  and recovering, and a quick clean up.

Phil assures me that there will be Livestreaming again for tomorrow’s launches. As of yet I have not found a new link for that particular date. I am going to leave the link for today’s live stream as that should get you to the page where you will be able to pick up the stream when it actually goes live for tomorrow.

Stages 1 and 2 will still be at the Stonewall Chamber of Commerce building.  The launch site is still at the Sammy Segner Ranch on Double Horn Road.

The sites will be open to public viewing of launches. However, if you plan to attend any of these launches please register for your attendance ticket ahead of time or obtain them at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site.  Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

The Central Texas/Stonewall launch dates, locations, map links, ticket links, and schools are also listed here for your convenience or can be found at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

Central Texas/Stonewall:

  • Sunday,  May 5
  • New Launch Site: 2187 Double Horn Road, Stonewall, Texas 78671
    Stage 1 & 2 at Stonewall Chamber of Commerce: 250 Peach Street, Stonewall, TX 78671
  • https://www.greateventseats.com/FBG-SystemsGo
  • Schedule for Sunday:
  • Georgetown High School with 4-1 pound/1 mile
  • Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/84VMTwMqFvy
    Directions (PDF)
  • Schools participating: Fabens HS, Fredericksburg HS, Granger HS, Hamilton HS, Kingwood HS, Lampasas HS, Llano HS, Marble Falls HS, McGregor HS, Roosevelt HS, Summer Creek HS, Decatur HS, Georgetown HS, Kermit HS, Liberty Christian School, Terrell HS, Tom Moore Ingram HS, Union Grove HS, Victoria East HS
  • 49 expected rockets for testing
  • A live feed for each launch will be provided and will be available at www.systemsgo.org as each launch date arrives. Friday’s is as follows: May 4- Day 3

The sites will be open for admittance at 8:00 a.m. and launches will commence at 8:30 a.m.  Of course rockets are subject to winds, weather and workmanship, all of which can stall a launch. Come join in the action and cheer on these students. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

Pictures from the progress at the site to this point are on SystemsGo Facebook page, as well as my Facebook page. They can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/SystemsGoEducation/

https://www.facebook.com/ginger.burow

A live feed for each launch will be provided and will be available at www.systemsgo.org as each launch date arrives.

Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the events if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on theses events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches! #RideTheSkies #texasrockettrail #Rockets2019

 

 

 

Rockets 2019 Central Texas/Stonewall Friday Launch Report

Saturday started off as a delayed launch until noon until the cloud window decided to hand a break  for a few hours before clouding up again around lunch. Crews rushed to the site to try to get rockets on the rails and in the skies. As it was, it was still hurry and wait as the clouds and weather never quite behave as  predicted. Even so, the second day of launches at the new site in Stonewall at the Sammy Segner Ranch was a great success.

The SystemsGo team and volunteer staff loaded and launched 8 rockets. Add to that a great recovery effort for the day. At day’s end all rockets shot for the weekend so far, with the exception of one, #77 have been recovered. I believe, that even so, #77 has at least a chute in possession at Mission Control.

We truly have an enthusiastic group of recovery volunteers this year. They are all having such a blast on this addictive game of lost and found.

George Burns put it best with his answer to the question, “what are you doing this weekend?” He said, “I am going out to a pasture I don’t know to run around looking for a needle in a haystack!”

Of course we are all enjoying ourselves and love the program or we would not be here doing what we do. Land owners Sammy Segner, Troy Spies, and Richard Koone are on recovery as well, and really enjoying the hunt.

Along with hunting Mr. Segner, had the added experience of pulling the LCRA truck out of the mud right in between Mission Control and the launch pad. Definitely not and ideal place for him to be stuck. 

Tomorrow will start early for the whole group as we have a start time of 0700. We have a full docket as our three original schools, Akins, Alamo Heights, and London, are being joined by Liberty Christian which moved from Friday, and the nine rockets from the trailer which didn’t get to launch due to weather Friday night. They include Hamilton, Marble Falls, McGregor, and Roosevelt. The schools whose rockets were in the trailer will not be in attendance but left their vehicles for SystemsGo to launch at the first opportunity provided they could watch them on Livestream. That is a total of 16 rockets for Saturday as far as I am informed.

Pictures from the progress at the site to this point are on SystemsGo Facebook page, as well as my Facebook page. They can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/SystemsGoEducation/

https://www.facebook.com/ginger.burow

Festivities continue tomorrow as weather permits. Fortunately, tomorrow is predicted to be a better weather day for Stonewall Rockets 2019, and Sunday will be even better.

Unfortunately it has been raining here in Gillespie County since about 1645 and is still predicted to go until about 0200. This means it will be a bit of a messy start in the morning, but hopefully the sun will come through and dry it out a little. There still might be some delays in the morning from weather,  clouds, or flooding depending on how long the storms last this evening so be sure to watch for updates on SystemsGo‘s Facebook page.

Stages 1 and 2 will continue to be at the Stonewall Chamber of Commerce building.

This site is be open to public viewing of launches. If you plan to attend any of these launches please register for your attendance ticket ahead of time or obtain them at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site.  Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

The Central Texas/Stonewall launch dates, locations, map links, ticket links, Livestream Links and schools are also listed here for your convenience or can be found at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

Central Texas/Stonewall:

  • Saturday, May 4
  • New Launch Site: 2187 Double Horn Road, Stonewall, Texas 78671
    Stage 1 & 2 at Stonewall Chamber of Commerce: 250 Peach Street, Stonewall, TX 78671
  • https://www.greateventseats.com/FBG-SystemsGo
  • Central Texas-Stonewall 2019 Flight Schedule
  • This schedule is still valid with the addition of Liberty Christian HS which moved to Saturday with one 1/1,  and the rockets from the trailer from Friday for schools, Hamilton HS with one of each 1/1 and Transonic, McGregor HS with one of each 1/1 and Transonic, Marble Falls HS with one of each 1/1 and Transonic, and Roosevelt with three, two 1/1 and one Transonic.
  • Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/84VMTwMqFvy
    Directions (PDF)
  • Schools participating: Fabens HS, Fredericksburg HS, Granger HS, Hamilton HS, Kingwood HS, Lampasas HS, Llano HS, Marble Falls HS, McGregor HS, Roosevelt HS, Summer Creek HS, Decatur HS, Georgetown HS, Kermit HS, Liberty Christian School, Terrell HS, Tom Moore Ingram HS, Union Grove HS, Victoria East HS
  • 48 expected rockets for testing-7 on Saturday
  • A live feed for each launch will be provided and will be available at www.systemsgo.org as each launch date arrives. Friday’s is as follows: May 4- Day 3

The site will open for admittance at 8:00 a.m. and launches will commence at 8:30 a.m.  Of course rockets are subject to winds, weather and workmanship, all of which can stall a launch. Come join in the action and cheer on these students. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

More event details will be available here in upcoming days as events progress. Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted each day of the event if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on theses events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches! #RideTheSkies #texasrockettrail #Rockets2019

 

 

 

Rockets 2019 Central Texas/Stonewall Thursday Launch Report

We had a slow start today due to low cloud ceilings for our first day of launches at the new Stonewall site at the Sammy Segner Ranch. The schedule began with 11 schools and 25 rockets and quickly decreased to 7 schools and 17 rockets as 4 schools canceled due to weather concerns.

The original list included Fabens, Fredericksburg, Granger, Hamilton, Kingwood, Lampasas, Llano, Marble Falls, McGregor, Roosevelt, and Summer Creek. OF the four schools that canceled, I have not been able to confirmation as to whether they have rescheduled to another day, or dropped out for this year. These schools include Fabens, Lampasas, Llano, and Summer Creek. At this time schedules have not been updated on SystemsGo to confirm changes so I will continue to post them for up coming days as they are. SystemsGo did post a bulletin yesterday offering Sunday as a weather contingency day to make up launches. We have no word yet if any schools have moved to that day.

The team and volunteers did manage 9 rockets on the rails today of which, 6 launched, and three returned to Stage 3. Of the 6 only Frederickburg’s Transonic and McGregor’s 1 pound/1 mile were not recovered before the site had to be shut down for a severe thunderstorm approaching. Roosevelt was still in Stage 3 finishing their rocket at that time. Eight other rockets were ready for the rails and stored in the SystemsGo trailer for protection for the night.

Property owner, Sammy Segner, and son-in-law, Troy Spies, helped on recovery today. They participated as part of 8 teams in the field watching, and documenting rockets as they sailed the skies and returned to the ground. Mr. Segner is seen here on the second recovery of the day as he retrieves Kingwood’s #76 rocket from a tree with the help of Steve Burow. Standing by were Mr. Segner’s recovery partner, George Burns, and Burow’s partner, Ginger(me), who were navigating the new ArcGIS Survey for the Recovery of Rockets, by AlphaSAR, that Erin Arkinson,  with Alpha Search and Rescue from Houston, was helping our teams to implement to better track the vehicles’ recoveries.

We really appreciate the use of Mr. Segner’s place for this concert in the sky, as well as his enthusiastic participation in our recovery efforts.

Pictures from the progress at the site to this point are on SystemsGo Facebook page, as well as my Facebook page. They can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/SystemsGoEducation/

https://www.facebook.com/ginger.burow

Festivities continue tomorrow as weather permits. Unfortunately, tomorrow is predicted to be the worst weather day for the stint of Stonewall Rockets 2019. Hopefully it will allow for some launches. Right now there is an 80% prediction of more storms during the night tonight as well as all day tomorrow. This could cause delays in our start times tomorrow as well as subsequent launches throughout the day.

Watch SystemsGo‘s Facebook page as well as their web page for updates about delays in the morning and throughout the day.

As for tomorrow, launches will continue as possible at the Sammy Segner Ranch on Double Horn Road and  Stages 1 and 2 will be at the Stonewall Chamber of Commerce building.

Remember if you and your school have not been to the sites already today, these are also a new locations. Be sure you have the updated maps and directions to your intended locations.   Links are posted below.

The site is open to public viewing of launches. However, if you plan to attend any of these launch days please register for your attendance ticket ahead of time or obtain them at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site.  Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

The Central Texas/Stonewall launch dates, locations, map links, ticket links, Livestream links and schools are also listed here for your convenience or can be found at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

Central Texas/Stonewall:

The sites will be open for admittance at 8:00 a.m. and launches will commence at 8:30 a.m.  Of course rockets are subject to winds, weather and workmanship, all of which can stall a launch. Come join in the action and cheer on these students. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

More event details will be available here in upcoming days as events get closer. Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the events if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on theses events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches! #RideTheSkies #texasrockettrail #Rockets2019

 

 

 

Rockets 2019 Central Texas/Stonewall Launch Rides the Skies Tomorrow, Thursday

Central Texas/Stonewall  Rockets 2019 starts tomorrow! This launch is third in the series for the Rockets 2019 season. This site has moved from Willow City to the Sammy Segner Ranch in Stonewall, Texas, please be aware of that change. More information below.

Currently there are 48 rockets scheduled for launch by 21 schools at the new  Stonewall location. This schedule may be updated this week with the possibility of a few schools that were scheduled for the North Texas launch that could not make it, shifting to this launch. Also rain is in the forecast for most of the launch days. Due to this SystemsGo has issue a weather contingency plan adding Sunday as an alternative. PLEASE see that information quoted below the regular launch information.

Stages 1 and 2 will be at the Stonewall Chamber of Commerce building.  This is also a new location.   This testing site  now covers mostly the Fredericksburg and Hill Country area schools.

The Central Texas/Stonewall launch dates, locations, map links, ticket links, Livestream links and schools are also listed here for your convenience or can be found at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

Central Texas/Stonewall:

  • Thursday, May 2
  • New Launch Site: 2187 Double Horn Road, Stonewall, Texas 78671
    Stage 1 & 2 at Stonewall Chamber of Commerce: 250 Peach Street, Stonewall, TX 78671
  • https://www.greateventseats.com/FBG-SystemsGo
  • Central Texas-Stonewall 2019 Flight Schedule
  • Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/84VMTwMqFvy
    Directions (PDF)
  • Schools participating: Fabens HS, Fredericksburg HS, Granger HS, Hamilton HS, Kingwood HS, Lampasas HS, Llano HS, Marble Falls HS, McGregor HS, Roosevelt HS, Summer Creek HS, Decatur HS, Georgetown HS, Kermit HS, Liberty Christian School, Terrell HS, Tom Moore Ingram HS, Union Grove HS, Victoria East HS
  • 48 total expected rockets for testing-25 Thursday
  • A live feed for each launch will be provided and will be available at www.systemsgo.org as each launch date arrives. Thursday’s is as follows:
  • May 2- Day 1

*************************************************************************

Weather Contingency Advisory from SystemsGo:

Subject: Central Texas Launch Advisory:

Greeting teachers scheduled to launch in Stonewall May 2-4! If you have monitored the weather at all, you know we are in store for a wet event!  Being mindful that our FAA waiver prohibits us from launching into cloud cover and/or lightning in the vicinity, our opportunities to launch will be limited particularly on Thursday and Friday. We want to make sure you are aware of this and the options available. We do have Sunday scheduled as a weather contingency day.  That being said, you have the following options.

Option 1: You continue as planned with your scheduled launch date.  This may mean your rocket will not launch as scheduled. You will have the option to stay and see if we can launch it the following day OR you can leave it with us, we will launch it at our first opportunity.   Should you choose this, we will contact you prior to launch so you can put out the word so your students/parents can watch it on live stream.

Option 2:  Reschedule travel plans and launch day for Saturday or Sunday.  Contact Christy at 830-997-3567 IMMEDIATELY if you would like to reschedule for Saturday or Sunday depending on space available.

We are still looking forward to a great event, but are unable to control the weather. We regret any inconvenience!  Rest assured we will do everything within our power to launch your students rockets.

We do have a safety plan in the event of lightning in the vicinity that involves sheltering in place in the buses.  We appreciate your cooperation!

Rebekah Hyatt

*************************************************************************

The sites will be open for admittance at 8:00 a.m. and launches will commence at 8:30 a.m.  Of course as noted above, rockets are subject to winds, weather and workmanship, all of which can stall a launch. Come join in the action and cheer on these students. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

If you plan to attend any of these launches please register for your attendance ticket ahead of time or obtain them at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site. Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

Here is a quick look at how our new home is shaping up for tomorrow. Pictures courtesy of Steve Burow. The intro picture for this article is Stage 3/Mission Control from here also.

More event details will be available here each evening during the even. Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted in these updates if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on theses events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches! #RideTheSkies #texasrockettrail #Rockets2019

 

 

 

Rockets 2019 Central Texas/Stonewall Launch Rides the Skies From a New Location, This Week

The Central Texas/Stonewall launch is third in the series for the Rockets 2019 season. This site has moved from Willow City to the Sammy Segner Ranch in Stonewall, Texas.

The “Fredericksburg” launch is the original  and therefore the longest  operating launch in the program. The rocket class began in 1996  as Principes of Technology, with a single one pound/one mile rocket developed and launched from a trailer in Lady Bird Johnson Park in 1997. In 1998 they launched the first Transonic vehicle, and in 1999 the first launch at White Sands Missile Range was conducted.

In 2003 the formal program know then as Ignite and now as SystemsGo was created and shared with other schools.

In 2007, five schools joined Fredericksburg in launching 1 pound/1 mile and transonic rockets at a one day event at the Meek Ranch off of State Hwy 16 South of Fredericksburg. This was the programs first official expanded group launch site where it remained  through 2009 until necessity called for a new place away from a major highway.

In 2010 they moved to the Camey Stewart Ranch in Willow City where it remained for 9 years, closing its season there in 2018.  Now in 2019 it continues activities at a new location in Stonewall.

In past years the volume has grown  substantially.  In 2017,  87 rockets were tested in that one  4 day weekend at the Stewart Ranch.  Even with the addition of the Houston launch site in 2012, taking some of the roster, the Fredericksburg launch carried a heavy load.

In 2018 some Southeast Texas schools still coming to Fredericksburg were asked to participate in Houston to try to even the load further. In doing this, they added a third day to the Houston launch and decreased Fredericksburg’s launch from four days to three.

The Fredericksburg site covered the Fredericksburg and Hill Country area schools, as well as North Texas,  and West Texas schools. Now with the addition of Jal, New Mexico and the New North Texas launches, the Fredericksburg load has reduced by about 1/3. With the program growing, these numbers will also continue to grow, but now each site has a renewed potential for expanded volume.

Currently there are 48 rockets scheduled for launch by 21 schools at the new  Stonewall location for Rockets 2019. This schedule may be updated this week with the possibility of a few schools that were scheduled for the North Texas launch that could not make it, shifting to this launch. These will be tested at the Sammy Segner Ranch in Stonewall.

Stages 1 and 2 will be at the Stonewall Chamber of Commerce building.  This is also a new location.   This testing site  now covers mostly the Fredericksburg and Hill Country area schools.

If you follow this program and like to view the launches, Rockets 2019  will continue with one more launch in May. The final launch of the junior level rockets will be held in Smith Point just south of Anahuac, Texas (the Southeast Texas/Smith Point launch) for schools in the Houston  and Southeast Texas area.

The senior groups are tentatively scheduled to launch their Goddard level rockets at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico in late June.  These are not available for public viewing or Livestream due to being tested on a military facility, but blog and SystemsGo updates will be posted online as available during that week. This will be the fifth launch sequence and will finalize the Rockets 2019 season.

All sites will be open to public viewing of launches except White Sands Missile Range. However, if you plan to attend any of these launches please register for your attendance ticket ahead of time or obtain them at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site.  Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch.

The Central Texas/Stonewall launch dates, locations, map links, ticket links, and schools are also listed here for your convenience or can be found at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

Central Texas/Stonewall:

The sites will be open for admittance at 8:00 a.m. and launches will commence at 8:30 a.m.  Of course rockets are subject to winds, weather and workmanship, all of which can stall a launch. Come join in the action and cheer on these students. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

A live feed for each launch will be provided and will be available at www.systemsgo.org as each launch date arrives.

More event details will be available here in upcoming days as events get closer. Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the events if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on theses events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches! #RideTheSkies #Texasrockettrail #Rockets2019

 

 

 

Rockets 2019 New North Texas/Jacksboro Saturday Launch and Mission Complete

Saturday, Day 2 for North Texas Rockets 2019 launch series was a high flying success as we ended our stint in Jacksboro. The new crew sent 12 rockets skyward for 5 different schools. Recovery did an awesome job bringing them back to the schools. This was a brand new venue this year, and most staff and volunteers from the area were also new. They were all a wonderful group that learned fast and performed well.

It all went well without any serious mishaps. This new location and crew from the area has a lot to be happy about as they all helped SystemsGo create another fantastic launch event.

One of the best accomplishments aside from the launch itself is the exposure to new parents and communities as to what these students and classes are really doing. This has brought new enthusiasm to the event and a new host of possible support staff for the future of the event as they have actually been able to see the excitement their students have  for the program, as well as what they are learning. Also they now see first hand what it takes to put on these events so that the students can test these vehicles. At the end of the day, support and enthusiasm for the program was high. This is a great thing for the future of the event here in North Texas.

Afterwards the SystemsGo team and volunteers dismantled the site, sending bunkers and other equipment to storage for next year’s launch season. Instead of finishing the launch series at around 8:30 like last night, we were all going to our rooms for much-needed rest after a wonderful dinner together. We ended the event well and now march on to the next one.

A whole-hearted thanks is extended to all who helped make this launch possible.

Pictures are from the progress at the site to this point are on SystemsGo Facebook page, as well as my Facebook page. They can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/SystemsGoEducation/

https://www.facebook.com/ginger.burow

North Texas was the second launch in the 2019 series, preceded by the Jal, New Mexico launch, and followed  next by  Central Texas/Stonewall and Southeast Texas/Smith Point.

The  launch dates, locations, map links, ticket links, and schools are also listed here for your convenience or can be found at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

A live feed for each launch will be provided and will be available at www.systemsgo.org as each launch date arrives.

Later in the summer, eight Texas schools are currently on the roster to attempt a possible 10 rockets at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, completing the fifth launch and finalizing the season.

More event details will be available here in upcoming days as events get closer. Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the events if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on theses events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches!

 

 

 

Rockets 2019 New North Texas Launch Site, Friday Launches

Today was the first day for  the new venue in North Texas  at Jack County as part of the SystemsGo Rockets 2019 program.  Seven schools attempted 22 rockets of which all rockets left the pad  successfully. A few of the later day Transonics took a couple of attempts but did accomplish lift off. It was a great first launch day in Jack County.

It was a long day. the first rocket didn’t launch until 11:30 and the last was 8:30. The crew was really beat but proud to say they got them all off the rails. University High School with started the flights with 6 of their 7 vehicles completing the whole first volley. Buinger and Hollenstein High Schools ended the day with their Transonics.

Tomorrow the schedule shows 6 schools and 16 rockets. There may be 17 as a late school may have been added.

All  the vehicles except about 8 were recovered for the day. Hopefully these will be found along with tomorrow’s line up. Team 1 is proud to report that we found six ourselves. Admittedly though they were a lot further and required a lot more hiking than  we had planned.

George Burns provided a shuttle service from the spectator parking to the site today and will again tomorrow. He brought up one of his 290 Wine Tours buses to transport people back and forth.

Pictures are from the progress at the site to this point are on SystemsGo Facebook page, as well as my Facebook page. They can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/SystemsGoEducation/

https://www.facebook.com/ginger.burow

Restrooms and concessions will be provided at the launch site. A spectator tent will also be available. Please remember sunscreen, chairs, umbrellas, extra snacks and drinks,

The launch site is in Jacksboro area, while Stages 1 and 2 are at the Fire Department in nearby Perrin.

Patience is a normal requirement with test vehicles, as they don’t adhere to schedules well.  In fact, rockets are subject to winds, weather and workmanship, all of which can stall a launch.

Admittance for public viewing  begins at 8:00 a.m. and launches will commence at 8:30 a.m. if all goes right. Today didn’t follow that schedule pre-set schedule well at all. Come join in the action and cheer on these students. Admission is free, but the look on your students’ faces when their vehicle goes up and then is recovered, is far from priceless.

If you plan to attend these launches please register for your attendance ticket ahead of time or obtain them at the gate. These are free but required for admittance to each site as they also include a waiver for access to the site. that must be signed. Reserving them ahead at the website is preferred to obtaining them at the gate because the latter slows entrance to the site and may result in you missing the viewing of your intended launch. The link is listed in the information above or can be found at www.sytemsgo.org .

The  launch dates, locations, map links, ticket links, and schools are also listed here for your convenience or can be found at http://www.systemsgo.org/events/ .

North Texas/Jack County:

If you follow this program join us again tomorrow for Rockets 2019 Day 2 in Jacksboro.

A link for the live feed for this launch is available at www.systemsgo.org  for each day.

More event details will be available here in upcoming days as events get closer. Daily reports featuring schedule links, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the events if information is available.

Please watch the SystemsGo website, SystemsGo Facebook page,  SystemsGo Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SystemsGoNews and this blog for upcoming information on theses events.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.

Hope to see you at the launches!